


True Mates (rewrite)

by Maethoriel_Artemis



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Magic, True Mates, Werewolf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 07:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22452193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maethoriel_Artemis/pseuds/Maethoriel_Artemis
Summary: Summary: Erin Rigel is a Protector, just like her entire family. And she was good at it. But then for reasons unknown, her mother decides to wipe her memory and place her with a completely normal family…or so she thought. (Derek x OC)
Relationships: Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Derek Hale/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	1. Erin Rigel/Bethany McCall

**Name:** Bethany McCall

 **Real name:** Erin Amaris Rigel

 **Bethany’s Age:** 16

 **Real Age:** 30’s (biologically) 20’s (physically)

 **Hair:** blonde

 **Eyes:** blue

 **Face claim:** Melissa Benoist

**Real Family:**

Gabriella Rigel – mother

Thomas Rigel – Father

Theo Rigel – older brother

**Fake Family:**

Melissa McCall – mother

Rafael McCall – father

Scott McCall – twin brother (non-identical)

**Pairing:** Derek Hale

**Powers/abilities:**

As a Protector, Erin has got superhuman strength, speed and agility/reflexes. She also has a much longer life span that matches those of a Werewolf. As such she ages normally until approximately 20 years old where her aging slows down considerably the point where it appears to have stopped. Healing is enhanced, though not as fast as some supernatural creatures. Occasionally her eyes will turn silver, the main giveaway that she’s a Protector.


	2. Lost and Found

Beautiful. That’s the one main word Derek Hale would use to describe his girlfriend, Erin Rigel. Even when she’s currently sitting on the end of his bed, one leg tucked under the other, absorbed in a school textbook. Which is what he should be doing but in all honesty he’d gotten a little distracted. “You know staring at me isn’t going to make your studying go any quicker”, the blonde remarked, not taking her focus away from her book.

“Sorry”, Derek mumbled and turned his gaze back down to the book in his lap “actually, no I’m not sorry”, he corrected, looking up at Erin. She glanced at him with a look of confusion on her face “I can’t concentrate on school right now”, Derek admitted setting his book aside “and you…” he took her copy away too “are smart enough that you don’t need to study as much as you do. So I was thinking we can do something else”.

“Like what?” Erin asked. In response Derek shifted closer to her, placing one hand on her cheek. Erin’s eyes fluttered shut as he pressed his lips against hers.

~Rigel’s Residence~

A young Banshee stood in front of Gabriella Rigel with a serious look on her face. “What did you see?” the Protector asked, getting straight down to business knowing that Sophia was here because she’d seen someone get seriously hurt or killed.

“The Hale house on fire”, Sophia replied “several people were trapped inside, including Erin”.

“Did my daughter survive?” Gabriella questioned.

“I’m afraid she didn’t”, Sophia told her “Gabriella, I believe that Erin needs to be separated from Derek as its their relationship that’ll get her killed”.

Gabriella nodded, having come to the same conclusion “I agree”, she said “but forcing them to stop seeing each other won’t be enough. They’re True Mates”.

“So what’ll you do?” Sophia asked.

“The only thing I can. Wipe her memory, give her new ones and place her with a normal family”, Gabriella answered. 

~Hale House~

Erin parted from Derek when she heard her phone ring. “Sorry”, she said apologetically, getting it out of her bag. “It’s my mom”, she said after seeing the caller ID. Erin slid off the bed and answered the phone. “Hey mom. Whats up?”

 _“Sorry to disturb your studies but I need to come home”_ , Gabriella said.

“Is everything ok?” Erin asked.

 _“Everything is fine. There’s something important I need to discuss with you”_ , her mother replied.

“I’m guessing it can’t wait”, Erin stated already moving to grab her bag.

 _“I’m afraid not”_ , Gabriella answered.

“Alright. I’ll be home in 10 minutes”, Erin said and hung up “looks like we need to cut our study date short, sorry”.

“That’s ok”, Derek said getting off the bed to join her at the foot of it “can I see you tomorrow?”

“Yes”, Erin replied “tomorrow, I’m all yours”, she promised.

“Good”, Derek said, pleased. He kissed her one last time “I love you”.

“Love you too”, Erin said and with that she left his room. Derek flopped down on his bed with a smile on his face. Tomorrow…he hoped it would come around quickly.

~Rigel’s Residence~

“Mom!” Erin called as she entered her home.

“In here honey!” Gabriella called from the living room. The blonde walked into the room to see her parents and brother standing there.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Erin asked. None of them answered her which made her concerned. She got even more worried when Theo wouldn’t even meet her eyes. “Guys? What’s going on?” she questioned. Suddenly she felt a sharp prick in her neck. Almost immediately, Erin collapsed, succumbing to the drug she was injected with.

“Do we really have to do this?” Theo asked his mother and father. He honestly didn’t feel right about doing this to his little sister. Yes, it was to ultimately protect her but still… wiping her memory?

“I’m afraid we do”, Thomas replied.

“If we don’t, Erin will die”, Gabriella added “Sophia saw it happen”.

“But…we’re Protectors! We could’ve kept her safe!” Theo insisted.

“This is the way it has to be”, the Protector who’d injected Erin said. He went to pick up the blonde when Theo stopped him.

“No, I’ll carry her”, he stated firmly. The brunette carefully gathered his sister up in his arms and they took her down to the basement. “I will see you again, I promise”, Theo vowed. He stood back and watched his parents plus several of the other Protectors combine their powers to remove all of Erin’s memories, replacing them with new ones. As an extra measure, they modified the memories of everyone in Beacon Hills to ensure that no trace of Erin Rigel existed.

Little did anyone know that aside from the family, one person WILL remember her. Her True Mate: Derek Hale.

\--------------------

6 years later…

“’A glooming peace this morning with it brings. The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head. Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things. Some shall be pardoned, and some punished. For never was a story of more woe. Than this of Juliet and her Romeo’” Bethany sighed and closed the book, glad to have finished it. _Now I have to write about it_ the blonde thought _great_. As much as she loved homework, she wasn’t a fan of Shakespeare. She cracked open her notebook and started to jot down some things that she wanted to mention in her paper. There was knock at the door “come in!” she called, not stopping her writing.

It opened and her twin brother, Scott entered. “Beth…I need help”, he said.

“Figured as much”, Bethany said, setting her pen down and looked over at him “what is it this time?”

“I’m stuck on this question”, he admitted “I’ve been staring at this page for ages and the numbers are starting to blur together”. He held up the worksheet. Bethany sighed again.

“Alright, I’ll help”, Bethany agreed.

Scott smiled “Great!” he said and went over to the desk. Bethany took the worksheet from him and proceeded to explained how to solve the problem. “Oh, now I get it! Thanks Beth, you’re the best”, he said, happily.

“No problem, Scott”, Bethany said. She watched her brother took the worksheet and ran out of the room. The blonde then continued with her homework. Suddenly she heard a noise outside, making her look around at the window. The teen got up and glanced outside but didn’t see anything. Bethany shrugged and went back to her writing. She’d barely gotten back into her school work when she heard Scott scream. The blonde bolted from her chair and out of the room. She skidded to a stop when she saw Stiles hanging upside down. “Of course it’s you”, she remarked “what brings you here at this hour, scaring my brother half to death?”

“I came to tell you that I saw my dad leave twenty minutes ago”, Stiles replied “Dispatch called-- they're bringing in every officer from the Beacon Department, and even state police”.

Scott frowned “For what?” he asked.

“Two joggers found a body in the woods”, Stiles answered, barely able to contain his glee. He reached up, pulled himself free of the trellis, landing with a thump on the ground. 

“What, a dead body?” Scott questioned making his twin roll her eyes. Even Stiles shot him a sarcastic expression when he pulled himself to his feet.

“No, a body of water” he rolled his eyes “Yes, dumbass, a dead body!”

The McCall siblings watched him clamber over the railing to join them on the front porch “Was this person murdered?” Bethany queried.

“Nobody knows yet. Just that it was a girl, probably in her twenties”, Stiles told her.

Scott frowned again “Hold on, if they found the body, then what are they looking for?”

“That's the best part-- they only found half”, Stiles said.

“Let me guess, you wanna go look for the other half?” Bethany stated.

“Uh…yeah”, Stiles admitted.

“Well, count me out. I’m not traipsing through the woods in the middle of the night looking for half a dead body”, Bethany said “but I will cover for you with mom”.

Scott grinned at her “you’re the best Beth”, he said.

Bethany smiled back “I know”, she said “just whatever you do, don’t get caught” and with that she headed back inside the house. The blonde haired teenager carried on with her homework for a little while longer before she turned in for the night.

\----------------

“I’m not sure what I can’t believe more that you found the body or that you lost your inhaler”, Bethany said as she drove Scott and herself to school the next morning, her twin having explained what had happened last night. Though he omitted the detail about him being bitten as he didn’t want her to worry.

“I know” Scott sighed “please tell me you’ve got the spare still?”

“Glove compartment”, Bethany replied. Scott opened it up and took out his extra inhaler.

“What would I do without you?” he asked, pocketing it.

“Do you really want me to dignify that with a response?” Bethany counter questioned.

“No, not really”, Scott admitted.

“Didn’t think so”, Bethany said. Moments later she pulled into the school “Stiles is here”, she remarked nodding to the teenager who was waving at them. Scott opened the door “20 bucks says he goes into super excited mode after you tell him about the body”, Bethany said in a teasing tone.

Scott glanced back at her “you know as well as I do that’s what he’ll be like. So no I’m taking that bet”, he said.

“Fair enough”, Bethany said “I’ll see you in class”. Scott nodded and hopped out of the car, taking his bag with him. Bethany also got out of the car, moments before Jackson’s silver Porsche, pulls into the parking spot next to her.

“Good morning, Beth”, he greeted, getting out of his vehicle “you look nice”.

“Thanks”, Bethany said. Getting compliments from him wasn’t anything new. She got it at least once a day. Though what she could never figure out is why he was so nice to her and yet he was anything but toward her brother.

“Want me to walk you to your locker?” Jackson offered.

“Uh…sure”, Bethany replied. She grabbed her bag from her car and locked it. Bethany shouldered her bag and the pair headed into the school. “You know, as much as I appreciate you being nice to me, I still don’t understand why”, the blonde commented.

“Do I need to have a reason?” Jackson asked. While he was dating Lydia, he couldn’t help have a bit of a crush on the McCall girl. She was smart and funny. And unlike Lydia, she didn’t have expectations of him.

“No, I guess not”, Bethany replied. When they stopped by her locker, she opened it up and put the books inside that she didn’t need.

“You coming to practice after first period?” Jackson questioned.

“Yeah. To support my brother and Stiles of course”, Bethany answered, closing the locker door.

“Right, of course”, Jackson said “see you at practice”. He turned and walked away, heading to his first class. Bethany went off in the opposite direction toward the English class room.

~English~

Bethany slid into her seat just in front of Stiles’ desk and set her books down on it as Mr Curtis started the lecture, while writing on the chalkboard. “As you all know, there indeed was a body found in the woods last night”, Scott grins and looks over at Stiles, who winks at him knowingly “And I am sure your eager little minds are coming up with various macabre scenarios as to what happened. But I am here to tell you that the police have a suspect in custody, which means you can give your undivided attention to the work I’ve put on your desks”. Bethany picked up the piece of paper and scanned the page. _Oh, yay. Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice. Why can’t we do anything exciting like Harry Potter?”_ she thought. 

She looked up from the syllabus when the classroom door opened and the Vice Principal walked in with a nervous looking brunette teenager. “Class, this is our new student, Allison Argent. Please do your best to make her feel welcome”, he said. Allison smiled weakly at the students before finding the only open seat in the class, which just happens to be the seat behind Scott and to the right of Stiles, the latter of whom smiles at her awkwardly as she sits down.

The former turned around and held out a pen to her. Allison gave him a look of surprise as she hadn’t expected him to offer one but she took it anyway and smiled gratefully at him. “Thanks”, she said and to which Scott returned her smile.

 _Oh I know that smile_ Bethany thought watching the interaction. Her twin brother is starting to fall for the new girl already. She just hoped that neither of them ended up getting hurt.

“We'll begin with Kafka's Metamorphosis on page one-thirty-three”, Mr Curtis said breaking through her thoughts. Bethany opened up her textbook to the page and the lesson began.

\-----------

Bethany settled down on the bleachers ready to watch the lacrosse practice. “Hey Beth”, Lydia greeted moving in front of her, blocking her view of the field.

“Hey Lydia”, she greeted back “Allison”, she added acknowledging the new girl with a nod. The brunette gave her a shy smile. Lydia parked herself next to Bethany while Allison sat on her other side. 

“Oh no”, Bethany murmured under breath as she watched her brother move toward the goal. She knew how much playing on the team meant to him but she also knew that he wasn’t exactly the best player. She just prayed that he wouldn’t get hit too many times.

“Who is that?” Allison asked.

“That’s my brother”, Bethany replied.

“I didn’t know you had a brother”, Lydia remarked.

Bethany refrained from saying something like _‘yeah you were aware but you pretend not to know because he’s not cool enough to be on your radar’_. Instead she just replied with “Well, now you do”.

“He any good?” Lydia questioned nodding to where Scott was.

“He needs a little improvement but otherwise he’s not a bad player”, Bethany replied. The assistant coach blows his whistle to start practice and Scott, who now has extra sensitive ears, flinched and covered his ears. Jackson took advantage of this and took a shot at him. The ball hits him right in the front of his helmet with so much force that he's knocked backwards onto the ground.

Coach Finstock, Jackson, and the rest of the team members immediately start laughing and making fun of him. Bethany cringed. “Hey, way to catch with your face, McCall!” Jackson jeered.

Scott, now determined to prove himself worthy of being first line, gets to his feet shakes out his shoulders in preparation for the next shot. The next player tosses the ball towards him, and Scott catches it easily. Bethany did a double take at this while Stiles cheered happily. “Yeah!!!”

Bethany gaped at her twin as he caught the next four shots just as easily. “It looks like your brother doesn’t need any improvement at all”, Allison stated.

“No, he doesn’t”, the blonde agreed “he could make first line for sure”.

Down on the field, Scott grinned having picked that up with his new heightened hearing. He bounced on the balls of his feet, giddy with the rush of catching all those shots. Jackson glared at Scott and shoved past the player in front wanting to take him down a peg. “Oh, God...” Scott breathed, tensing up seeing Jackson plough towards him and tossed the ball with all the force as he can muster. Though much to Jackson’s increasing annoyance Scott caught that shot as well.

Bethany, Lydia and Stiles surged to their feet, cheering loudly. The strawberry blonde gave Jackson as very pointed look ‘Is that all you've got?’ However, this doesn’t do anything but make Jackson even more furious for Scott taking his glory as the best player on the team. “Incredible”, Bethany breathed, thoroughly impressed with how her brother had gone from being an a-ok player to being better than Jackson.

~Beacon Hills Nature Reserve~

“You wanna explain how you managed to make all those shots?” Stiles asked as the three of them crossed the creek in order to head to the spot where Scott had both lost his inhaler and found the other half of the body.

“I-I don't know what it was. It was like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball. And that's not the only weird thing. I-I can hear stuff I shouldn't be able to hear. Smell things”, Scott explained.

“Like what?” Bethany asked.

“Like the coconut shampoo you used this morning”, Scott said and Bethany sniffed her hair, the scent of coconut extremely faint to her “and the mint mojito gum in your pocket”, he added to Stiles.

The teenager scoffed sceptically as he reached into his pocket “I don't even have any mint mojito—” Stiles trailed off when he found, much to his surprise, a single piece of folded-up mint mojito gum. Scott raised both of his arms to the side as if to say, ‘I told you so’.

Stiles considers this for a moment before he continues “So all this started with the bite?”

“Wait, what bite?” Bethany asked.

“You didn’t tell her?” Stiles counter questioned.

“I didn’t want to worry you”, Scott admitted.

“You didn’t want to worry me?” Bethany repeated loudly, smacking him in the arm “bit late for that. is there anything else you’re keeping from me?”

“Nothing!” Scott insisted.

“You promise?” Bethany asked.

“I swear, that’s it”, Scott assured her.

Bethany looked at her twin for a moment before she nodded. “You know, I think I might know whats going on with you”, Stiles said after a moment.

“What?” Scott asked.

“You’ve got lycanthropy”, Stiles said as serious as he possibly could. Bethany shot him an unamused look while Scott, not realising that his best friend was messing with him, he started to panic.

“What's that? Is that bad?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah, it's the worst. But only once a month”, Stiles said, not even bothering to hide the teasing tone.

Bethany smacked Stiles upside the head “Stop teasing him, he’s not turning into a werewolf”, she said in a scolding voice “that would be impossible”.

“Okay, obviously I'm kidding”, Stiles said rubbing the back of his head “But, if you see me in shop class trying to melt all the silver I can find, it's 'cause Friday's a full moon”.

Scott stops walking and looks around, frowning when he doesn't see anything remarkable where they're standing. “No, I-I could have sworn this was it”, he insisted “I saw the body, the deer came running. I dropped my inhaler...”

“Maybe the killer moved the body?” Stiles suggested.

“If he did, I hope he left my other inhaler”, Scott shifted some leaves with his foot “Those things are pretty pricey”.

“Tell me about it. I had to replace the last one you lost”, Bethany said. She looked around at the area they were standing in “you sure this is were you dropped it?” she asked.

“I think so but it was dark and everything happened so fast…” Scott admitted.

“Alright. You two look around here. I’m gonna take a look over there”, Bethany said pointing in a direction.

“Be careful and if you see the body…” Stiles started.

“…Or my inhaler”, Scott cut in.

“I’ll shout”, Bethany promised and headed off in the direction she pointed.

The blonde trudged through the leaves, occasionally some aside, her eyes trained on the floor searching for Scott's missing inhaler. She hoped they would find it but it was highly unlikely considering it was dark when we brother lost it. She paused when she reached a slight slope and started to walk carefully down it aware of how slippery the leaves were underfoot.

Suddenly her foot shot out from underneath her! Bethany screamed as she tumbled down the slope. Thankfully she was caught by a pair of strong arms. “Thanks for the save”, she said to her rescuer breathlessly. The person in question couldn’t bring himself to speak for he was rather shocked to see that his True Mate had quite literally crashed into his life…well into his arms after seemingly vanishing off the face of the Earth 6 years ago.

He’d spent so long trying to figure how she disappeared and why. But he never got any answers and to make matters worse it had seemed like everyone had forgotten her. Everyone that is except for him. And as for her family…he couldn’t find any trace of them either which had frustrated him to no end. However, the literally barrage of emotions that he’d felt over the years: anger… frustration…worry…fear…that was all gone the second his Mate was in his arms. “Erin”, he breathed.

The blonde looked at him confused “You’ve got my confused for someone else, I’m Bethany McCall”, she said.

“Oh, right. Sorry”, Derek said, setting her down. He should’ve realised she was different. For one thing, she would’ve been able to stop herself from falling. For another, there was something off with her scent. It wasn’t quite the way he remembered it. There was something missing. “I’m Derek Hale”, he introduced and waited for a glimmer of recognition but there wasn’t one.

“Nice to meet you”, Bethany said “strange question: you wouldn’t happen to have seen an inhaler by any chance? My brother lost it out here last night”.

“I have”, Derek replied and produced it from his pocket.

“You are a lifesaver”, Bethany said, gratefully taking it “I better get back to Scott and Stiles, tell my brother the good news”.

“You want me to walk with you?” Derek offered. He really hoped she’d say yes as he didn’t really want to let her out of his sight, not when he’d just found her.

“Sure”, Bethany replied. They walked back up the slope, Derek keeping a supporting hand on the blonde to make sure she didn’t slip. “Thanks again for catching me”, Bethany said as they walked.

 _I would always catch you_ Derek thought, out loud he said “you’re welcome”. It didn’t take them long to reach Scott and Stiles as the pair were still pretty much in the same place Bethany had left them, searching for the former’s inhaler.

“Guys!” Bethany called, gaining their attention “found it!” she held up the inhaler “actually, Derek found it” she corrected nodding to the werewolf standing next to her. She turned to him “I know I’ve said this twice but thank you”, she said giving him a smile.

Derek returned it “you’re welcome Beth. Take care of yourself”, he said and with that he walked away. Bethany watched him go before turning back to Scott and Stiles, the latter giving her a rather incredulous look.

“What?” she asked.

“Do you know who that was?” Stiles counter questioned “that was Derek Hale”.

“I know, he told me”, Bethany said.

“Do you know _who_ he is?” Stiles repeated “and what happened to his family?”

“No, what happened to them?” Bethany asked.

“They all burned to death in a fire, like, ten years ago”, Stiles explained.

“Oh…” Bethany breathed, shocked “poor guy”.

“I wonder what he’s doing back….” Scott mused aloud.

“I’d say that’s Derek’s business, not ours”, Bethany said.

“Well, we can’t stand around here chatting about it, I got work to get to”, Scott said and the three of them headed back to Bethany’s car and Stile’s jeep.

Hours later…

Bethany yawned as she pulled back the covers and she got into bed. She tugged the duvet back over herself, rolled over and closed her eyes. A few minutes later her bedroom window slid upwards and Derek climbed inside. The werewolf knew he shouldn’t be there especially when Bethany could wake at any moment. But he couldn’t help it . This was his _True Mate_. Derek quietly walked around the bed as the blonde shifted slightly in her sleep. He reached out and gently caressed her face, his movements stilling when Bethany seemed to lean into his touch. “I won’t let anyone take you away from me again”, he quietly vowed.


	3. Losing Control

School the next day passed by without any incident for Bethany. However, she did get some really good news from her brother. He made first line! And she was very proud of him. She knew how much he wanted to earn that position on the team.

Currently Bethany was getting ready for the party at Lydia’s house. She was brushing the tangles out of her hair when there was a knock at the door. “Come in!” she called. The door opened and her brother walked in.

“What do you think?” Scott asked gesturing to his outfit.

“You look good”, Bethany replied turning back to the mirror to finish with her hair.

“Thanks”, Scott said “now um…I need a tiny favour…”

“Car keys on the bed”, Bethany said, her voice mumbling around the hair grip now in her mouth. Scott turned to the bed and saw them lying there. He picked them up.

“You’re the best”, Scott said.

Bethany grinned at him “I know”, she said “now go have fun with Allison”.

“Will do”, Scott said “see you at the party”.

“Yeah, see you”, Bethany said and Scott left her room. Once she was ready, Bethany made her way down stairs and out of the house where Stiles was waiting in his jeep. “Thanks for picking me up”, the blonde said as she hopped into his vehicle, pulling the door closed behind her.

“No problem”, Stiles said. He started up the car and drove away.

“Are you ok, Stiles?” Bethany asked as her friend drove toward Lydia’s house “you seem…tense”.

“I’m fine”, Stiles answered quickly and the blonde raised a sceptical brow at him.

“You sure?” she questioned.

“I’m absolutely sure”, Stiles insisted.

“Ok”, Bethany said “but if something else is really going on with my brother…something other than his heightened senses and the incredible improvement to his Lacrosse skills then I need to know”.

“Nothing else is going on, I promise”, Stiles assured her. He felt slightly bad because he’d been joking about how Scott was turning into a werewolf and now he was actually sure that was what was happening to his best friend…and he wasn’t saying a word to Bethany about it. And he really, really should considering that it was her brother.

~Martin House~

Derek stood in the shadows behind a fire pit near the gate in the back yard of Lydia’s house, his eyes trained on Scott. That is until Bethany showed up. Then she had all his attention. He watched one of the male teens approach the blonde “hey Beth”, he greeted “glad you could make it”.

“Hey Jackson”, Bethany greeted back.

“You wanna dance?” he offered, touching her arm making Derek growl lowly.

“No, thank you”, Bethany politely declined “you should stick to dancing with Lydia”.

“She’s too busy hosting”, Jackson said, taking her hand and spinning her around which made Derek curl his fists angrily “come on, just _one_ dance”.

“I don’t think so”, Bethany said tugging her hand out of his.

“Well, if you want a dance, come find me”, Jackson said, not too fussed by her refusal. She’ll ask him for a dance, sooner or later. The blonde let out a breath and turned away from the party goers. Derek watched her stand there on her own, all the while resisting the urge to join her. To talk to her…to make her laugh…to make her smile. He always loved her smile, it was infectious. And her laugh made you want to laugh.

Bethany’s ears picked up a groan and she spun around to see her brother almost doubled over. “Are you okay?” Allison asked him as Bethany made her way over.

“Yeah…I'll be right back”, Scott said and took off into the house. Bethany wasn’t about to let him go when he looked like he was about to hurl so she chased after him, Allison hot on her heels. The two females darted out of the front door in time to see Scott drive off in Bethany’s car.

“Now what I am going to do?” Allison asked “he was my ride”.

“I’ll go get Stiles. He brought me here”, Bethany said “I’m sure he’ll give you a lift home”. She turned to head back inside when she saw Derek. “Derek? What are you doing here?” she asked, surprised to see him.

“I was just in the neighbourhood”, Derek said “Are you two alright?”

“No, not really. Scott took off and left me here”, Allison replied before Bethany could answer.

“I could take you both home, if you like”, Derek offered.

“That’s not necessary but thank you”, Bethany said, politely declining.

“It wouldn’t be any trouble”, the Werewolf assured them

“You sure it wont put you out?” Allison questioned.

“Not at all”, Derek replied.

“I guess you’re my ride”, Allison said.

Derek smiled “great”, he said “Beth, you need a lift?” he asked.

“Sure, why not”, Bethany answered. She didn’t particularly want Allison getting in the car alone with him. Though Derek was really nice to her, she didn’t know him all that well.

“Cool”, Derek said and led them to his car. Stiles appeared in the front door just as Derek was driving his car past with both girls inside. He rushed down the steps and to his car. He needed to get to Scott’s house fast! He had to help his friend get his transformation under control before Bethany showed up.

\-------------

Allison was dropped off first and then Derek took Bethany to her house. “Thanks for the lift”, the blonde said, getting out of the car, picking up her jacket as she did so.

“You’re welcome”, Derek said.

“Out of curiosity, were you really in the neighbourhood?” Bethany queried.

“Yes. I was”, Derek answered.

Bethany looked at him for a moment as she considered whether or not to trust his answer. But eventually she did say “Ok. Have a nice night”. 

“You too”, Derek said. He watched her walk up to the front door and let herself in. He then glanced down at the green scarf Bethany had accidently left on the front passenger seat and smiled. He had the perfect thing to bring Scott to him. Derek drove away from the house, heading to Beacon Hills Preserve.

Bethany immediately headed upstairs to check on her brother. “Stiles?” she asked, seeing the teenager standing there looking worried.

“Oh, hey Beth”, he greeted “I uh…wouldn’t go in there”, he added quickly, stopping her from entering Scott’s room.

“And why not?” Bethany questioned. She pushed him aside and entered her twin’s room only to find it empty. “Stiles, what’s going on?” she demanded, turning to the teen but he was gone! Bethany ran down the stairs and reached the door in time to see his jeep drive off. She let out a frustrated noise. Something was going on with Scott and Stiles knew what it was. But why was he keeping it from her?! This was her brother, she had the right to know what was happening.

\--------------------

“Ok spill. What the hell happened to you?” Bethany demanded when she finally managed to corner her brother two days after the party. And it had been hard work too as somehow he’d managed to avoid her for the entire weekend AND throughout the entire school day. Even Stiles had been avoiding her too!

“What do you mean?” Scott counter asked, knowing exactly what she was talking about. But he had no idea how to tell her that though Stiles had been joking about the whole Werewolf thing, he was actually right.

“You know what I mean. You left Allison at the party and when I got home you weren’t even there. I just found Stiles acting really weird. The two of you have been actively avoiding me and I want to know why?”

“It’s…complicated”, Scott admitted.

“Then uncomplicate it”, Bethany lightly ordered “Does it have anything to do with that joke Stiles made about you turning into a Werewolf?”

“What?! No! Of course not”, Scott insisted even though his heart was pounding like crazy from the lie he just told.

“You promise?” Bethany asked.

“I promise. I’m not turning into a wolf”, Scott assured her.

Bethany looked at her twin for a moment before she said “Ok. But if there is something going on, you know you can tell me, right? I’m not gonna blab to mom”.

“I know and if there was something going on, I would tell you”, Scott promised.

“Good”, Bethany said “I’ve gotta pick up a book from the library and then I’ll meet you out on the Lacrosse field”.

“You’re going to be watching practice?” Scott asked.

“Yeah. That’s ok, right? I mean if it isn’t then I’ll head home”, Bethany replied.

“No, its fine”, Scott said “I could use all the support I can get”.

“Great! Then I’ll meet you out there”, Bethany said and with that she headed back into the school.

“Great”, Scott muttered. Now all he hoped for was that he didn’t lose control on the field.

\------------

Bethany settled down on the bench and smiled when her brother and Stiles appeared on the field with the rest of the team. She watched them run drills which included trying to get past Jackson to take a shot at the goal. She cringed when Scott got knocked to the ground by the athlete. To make it worse Coach Finstock got in his face, mocking him. “My-my grandmother can move faster than that-- and she's dead! You think you can move faster than the lifeless corpse of my dead grandmother?”

“Yes, Coach”, Scott replied, feeling the wolf in him begin to rise.

“I can't hear you!” Coach said.

“Yes, Coach”, Scott repeated through gritted teeth.

“Then do it again!” Coach Finstock ordered. In that moment Bethany wished she could take a lacrosse stick to his head. Actually…there were several times where she was tempted to do that. Though of course she curbed that impulse lest she got into trouble for attacking a teacher.

Scott straightened up and jogged back to where the other players were lined up. He gripped the Lacrosse stick tighter in his hands and rushed at Jackson. “Ouch”, Bethany muttered, grimacing when Scott slammed him into the ground. She was pretty sure she heard something break.

Scott suddenly dropped to his knees, clutching his head. That had Stiles rushing toward him. Even Bethany was on her feet, hurrying towards her brother. “Scott? Scott, you okay?” Stiles asked.

“I can't control it, Stiles! It's happening!” Scott groaned.

“What? Right here? Now?” Stiles questioned, alarmed. He glanced over to where Bethany was making her way towards them before helping his best friend to his feet and leading him away as quick as he could before Scott went all Wolf Man.

~Boys Locker Room~

The moment they reached the Boys Locker Room, Scott practically threw himself into the room. “Scott are you ok?” Bethany asked worriedly, having managed to catch up with them.

Scott looked up at his twin and best friend, his eyes a bright yellow and his face taken on a wolf like appearance. “GET AWAY FROM ME!” he roared.

Bethany screamed before she and Stiles scrambled away from him. Scott jumped on top of the lockers watching the pair edge along the lockers, completely terrified of him. The beta werewolf clambered along the concrete beams, eyeing his prey below. The pair darted towards the door, the female tripping over. Scott growled lowly and then pounced.

Bethany screamed again as she was pinned to the floor by her brother. “SCOTT STOP!” she yelled. Her shout seem to do something to her twin as he Werewolf side retreated.

“Beth?” Scott asked, seemingly confused as to why he was holding his sister to the floor. He quickly got off of her. “Beth, Stiles? What happened?” he questioned.

“You tried to kill us both”, Stiles answered as Bethany got to her feet “it’s like I told you before. It’s the anger. It’s your pulse rising. Its…”

“The lies you tell your sister?” Bethany cut in.

“Beth I - ”, Scott started when his twin interrupted again with

“Don’t. Just…don’t” she backed away from her brother “I-I need some air”. Scott and Stiles watched her quickly leave, picking up her bag which she’d dropped.

The blonde hastily walked out of school, not even noticing Derek until she collided with him. The Beta Werewolf grabbed hold of her arms, stopping her from falling to the ground. “Thanks. I wasn’t looking were I was going”, Bethany said.

“That’s ok. I was in a bit of a rush myself”, he said. _A bit of a rush because I heard your screams_ he mentally added. The second he heard them, he’d taken off toward the school, utterly terrified for his Mate. She was vulnerable and completely innocent to the supernatural world that she’d now been thrown into. Which was all the more reason to protect her. “Are you alright?” he asked, checking her over for injuries.

“Yeah, I’m fine”, Bethany replied but Derek could tell she was lying “I…uh…have to go. Again I’m sorry for bumping into you”. The blonde moved around Derek and headed to the parking lot where her car was sat. The Werewolf watched her go. He was going to have words with Scott later.

~McCall House~

Scott lingered in the doorway of his sister’s bedroom, unsure whether to enter. He knew they needed to talk and he couldn’t really put it off. “Either come in the room or go away”, Bethany said, not looking up from her book. Scott tentatively stepped into the room and closed the door.

“Beth I…I don’t know how to start”, he admitted. Bethany lowered her book and fixed her brother with a look.

“Well you could start with the Werewolf in the room”, she suggested “and why you lied to me about it”.

“I’m sorry about that, I really I am. I was just afraid of how you’d react”, Scott confessed.

“I would’ve reacted a lot better than I did earlier if you’d told me”, Bethany shot back “I’m your sister, Scott. Your twin. There shouldn’t be any secrets between us. Now get out”.

“Beth I…” Scott started.

“I said…get out!” Bethany shouted. Her brother sighed and left the room. The blonde watched him go before she let out a sob, curling into a ball, quietly crying to herself. “What do I do now?” she sniffled. The teenager stayed there until she had cried herself to sleep.

When Derek got to the house a little later, the first thing he did was check in on Bethany. The beta werewolf caught the scent of tears in the room which of course made him even more angry than he was. He then made his way to Scott’s room, startling the poor kid as he’d been distracted talking to Stiles on his laptop. “I saw what you did on the field”, he stated lowly as he closed the door behind him.

“Wha-what are you talking about?” Scott stammered.

“You shifted in front of them!” Derek said, angrily, keeping his voice low as to not disturb Bethany “If they find out what you are, they find out about me-- about all of us. Which includes your sister”.

“But, she’s not a werewolf”, Scott said.

“The hunters won’t know that”, Derek shot back “they’ll just see that she knows about you and will assume she’s like us” he stepped closer to him “and for her sake, don’t play that game on Saturday. Cos if you do, I'm gonna kill you myself”.

\------------

When Bethany opened up her locker the next day, she was surprised to find her green scarf inside. _Lydia must’ve found it at her house and put it in there_ she thought, taking it out and loosely looping it around her neck. Bethany put some books away and closed her locker. She turned to go and practically bumped into her brother. “Sorry”, he quickly apologised “I’m actually glad I caught you. We need to talk”.

“Yeah, I guess we do”, Bethany admitted “Look, Scott. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. I was just…so angry that both you AND Stiles would keep that ‘thing’ a secret from me. From _me_! Your own sister. I realise that you never asked for this to happen and I will do my best to be supportive. Though it will take some time for me to get used to”.

“I und-“ Scott broke off, frowning at the scarf around her neck. It was the same one she wore to the party…the one that Derek had used to draw him to the woods. “Where did you get that?” he demanded.

“In my locker”, Bethany replied “I guess Lydia must’ve brought it back from the party. She’s got the combination”.

“Are you sure she brought it back herself?” Scott questioned “could someone have given it to her?”

“Like who?” Bethany counter queried, confused. 

“Derek”, Scott stated “How much did you talk to him when he drove you home?”

“We chatted a little”, Bethany replied.

“Listen to me Beth. You need to stay away from him”, Scott said seriously.

“Why? I mean I know there’s that whole house fire thing but he’s actually a nice guy. And he’s kinda funny”, Bethany said, chuckling to herself as she recalled a bad joke Derek made during the drive.

“He’s _not_ a nice guy Beth. He’s…a werewolf”, Scott told her.

“Derek’s a werewolf?” Bethany repeated “ok”.

“Ok? Ok?! He’s a freaking werewolf Bethany! He’s dangerous!” Scott exclaimed.

“So are you!” Bethany shot back “and last time I checked it was you who tried to kill me in the locker room, not Derek. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get to class” and with that she walked off. Scott watched her go before he growled angrily under his breath. Looks like he was going to have to pay Derek a visit. Deciding that was far more important than class, he took off to where his bike was stored.

~Hale House~

Scott barely slowed down when he reached the burnt out home, jumping off his bike, the momentum making it go a little longer before it toppled over. “Derek! DEREK!” he shouted. He didn’t have to wait long until the Beta werewolf appeared. “You need to stay away from my sister”, Scott demanded.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that”, Derek said hopping off the porch “when I’m the only one who can keep her safe from you”.

“I’d never hurt her”, Scott insisted.

“No, you’d just kill her instead”, Derek countered dryly “like you almost did yesterday. You’re very lucky that you managed to pull it back because the next time you might not be so fortunate. And you’ll never forgive yourself if you hurt your sister. Trust me, I know”. The memory of hurting his Mate when he lost control still occasionally haunts him which is also another reason why he was so eager to make sure Bethany stayed safe. “You don't get it yet, Scott, but I'm not just looking out for Beth, I’m also looking out for you. Think about what could happen. You're on the field... the aggression takes over... and you shift in front of everyone-- your mom, all your friends... and when they see you... everything falls apart”, Derek continued.

Scott stayed silent knowing that he was right. No he didn’t want to lose control and potentially hurt his friends…his mother and his sister. But at the same time he didn’t want to give up on lacrosse. If he stopped playing then he’d lose First Line AND Allison. It was a no win situation. Unless he could figure out a way to maintain control.

\---------------

“So how do you’ll think we’ll do tonight?” Melissa asked Bethany as they took their seats on the bleachers, ready to watch the game.

“Hopefully reasonably well”, Bethany replied. _So long as Scott can keep it together_ she mentally added. She kept her eyes trained on her brother while the game was going and noticed that no one seemed to be passing him the ball. “What the hell is Jackson playing at?” she muttered. Getting everyone to avoid Scott was a sure fire of making him a little angry which could cause his control to slip.

Then she saw it. A little shift in her twin. And the Cyclones started winning. “Did that kid just give Scott the ball?” Melissa questioned, surprised as she watched it happen.

“Yep mom, they sure did”, Bethany confirmed. _Probably due to him giving the kid the ‘wolf face’_ she thought. There was no way the opposing team would just willingly pass the ball over to him if he didn’t. Scott shot the ball at the goal and the force of it ripped a hole in the goalie’s net.

A minute later he got the ball again but this time he seemed to be distracted by the other players. Bethany knew that he must’ve wolfed out. “You can do it Scott”, she whispered, praying that her brother can hear her “you can do it”.

Down on the field, Scott’s keen hearing picked up both Allison’s and Bethany’s words and he looked up at them. His twin sister met his gaze and she gave him an encouraging smile. That was enough to give him some semblance of control to allow him to take the shot. The crowd erupted into cheers. The Cyclones won! “Way to go Scott”, Bethany whispered “I’m proud of you”.


	4. Dreams and Nightmares

_Bethany sat on the edge of her bed, one leg tucked under the other, reading a school textbook. Or at the very least trying to but it wasn’t easy when she could feel Derek’s eyes on her. “You know, I am trying to study and you staring at me isn’t helping”, the blonde remarked, not taking her focus away from her book._

_“Sorry”, Derek said “actually, no I’m not sorry”, he corrected making Bethany look at him with confusion. He moved closer to her and took her book away “You are smart enough that you don’t need to study as much as you do. So I was thinking we can do something else”._

_“Like what?” Bethany asked. In response Derek shifted closer to her, placing one hand on her cheek and he kissed her. Her eyes fluttered shut as his lips moved to her neck. She let out a soft moan as he nuzzled her skin._

_“You’re mine Beth”, Derek murmured “my Mate”._

Bethany’s eyes flew open and she sat up with a gasp. “What the hell?” she breathed. She had no idea where that dream had come from. She barely knew Derek and now she was having that kind of dream? The blonde shook her head. “Gotta get those thoughts out of my head”, she muttered.

“NO!” she heard her brother scream. Bethany bolted out of her bed and rushed into Scott’s room. Her twin was sitting upright in bed, pale and shaking.

“Scott, what’s wrong?” Bethany asked going to his side.

“Allison! I killed Allison!” Scott exclaimed.

“It was just a nightmare”, Bethany said softly, sitting down next to him and putting an arm across his shoulders “its not real”.

“It felt so real. I-I chased her down….dragged her to the back of the bus….” Scott trailed off, clutching his bedsheets tightly.

“You don’t have to say anymore”, Bethany said gently “and I’ll call Allison in the morning. She’ll pick up the phone and everything will fine, you’ll see”. Scott looked at his sister, really hoping that she was right. Cos he’d never be able to live himself if he had hurt Allison. Just in case he had another nightmare, Bethany stayed with her brother. Thankfully he didn’t have another one and Bethany’s dream about Derek faded from her mind.

The next morning as promised, Bethany got hold of Allison and much to Scott’s relief she picked up. “I told you everything was going to be fine”, Bethany said tucking her phone into her pocket.

“Yeah, you did”, Scott agreed “but that still begs the question why did I have that dream? And why did it feel so real?”

“I don’t know”, Bethany replied “but at least Allison is ok. Now we gotta get to school otherwise we’re going to be late”.

“Yeah, yeah ok”, Scott said. When the siblings got to school however, they discovered that one of the school buses had become a rather bloody crime scene. Scott and Bethany exchanged shocked looks.

\-----------------------

“Maybe it was my blood on the door...” Scott whispered as they settled into their seats in the Chemistry class.

“Or it was animal blood”, Bethany quietly suggested “like a rabbit or something”.

“And did what?” Scott asked.

“Ate it? Played catch with it? Who knows?” Bethany shrugged “I’m not the one who turns into a wolf”.

“Hey! I think they found something!” Harley suddenly said, making all the students get up from their seats and rush over to the window. They watched the EMT’s wheel a body on a gurney towards the ambulance. The body jerked into an upright position causing everyone to jump from the sudden movement.

Scott backed away from the window, face pale. “Its ok Scott”, Bethany assured him “the guy’s alive”.

“It’s not ok Beth. Something happened last night, and I can't remember what”, Scott said.

“Then we need to figure out a way to help you remember”, Beth stated.

“I think I know who can help. Derek Hale”, Scott said. As much as he hated to admit it, Derek was his best option in figuring out the whole Werewolf thing.

\--------------

“What makes you so sure that Derek even has all the answers?” Stiles asked when the twins got him up to speed at lunch time. He’d missed Chemistry due to car problems so he didn’t find out about the bus incident until now.

“Because during the full moon, he wasn't changed. He was in total control while I was running around in the middle of the night, attacking some totally innocent guy”, Scott explained.

“You don’t know that you were the one who attacked him”, Beth pointed out “you could have been trying to save him”.

“I doubt I was saving him”, Scott sighed “I can't go out with Allison. I have to cancel”.

“No way!” Bethany said “I’m not letting you jeopardize your chances with her”.

“Besides, you can't just cancel your entire life!” Stiles added “We'll figure it out”.

“Figure out what?” Lydia asked setting her tray next to Bethany’s, surprising the seated trio.

“Just, uh, homework...” Scott replied.

“Yeah”, Stiles agreed. Allison then joined them followed by both Danny and Jackson.

“So, I hear they're saying its some type of animal attack. Probably a cougar”, Danny said.

“I heard mountain lion”, Jackson put in.

“A cougar is a mountain lion”, Lydia automatically corrected but she added “...Isn't it?” when she got a look from her boyfriend.

“Who cares?” Jackson asked rhetorically “The guy's probably some homeless tweaker who's gonna die anyway”.

“Actually, I just found out who it is”, Stiles said, now looking at his phone “Check it out”. They all gathered around his phone and watched the clip.

_The Sheriff's department won't speculate on details of the incident but confirmed the victim, Garrison Myers, did survive the attack. Myers was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition._

“Wait…that’s the driver of the bus we used to take when we lived with our dad”, Bethany said “right Scott?”

“Yeah, I remember him too”, Scott confirmed.

“Can we talk about something slightly more fun, please?” Lydia asked, in a bored tone, picking at her lunch with her fork “Like, oh, where are we going tomorrow night?” at the looks she gained from both Allison and Scott, she tacked on “You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow, right?”

“Um, we were thinking of what we were gonna do...” Allison replied slightly confused as to why Lydia was asking.

“Well, I am not sitting home again, watching lacrosse videos, so if the four of us are hanging out, we are doing something fun”, Lydia stated.

Scott stared at her, stunned “Hanging out? Like, the four of us?” he turned to Allison “Do you wanna hang out, like, us and them?”

“Yeah, I guess... Sounds fun...” Allison admitted, though her voice had a little wary tone to it.

“You know what else sounds fun?” Jackson held up a fork “Stabbing myself in the face with this fork”.

“How 'bout bowling?” Lydia suggested happily “You love to bowl!”

“Yeah, with actual competition”, Jackson scoffed.

“How do you know we're not actual competition?” Allison smoothly countered “You can bowl, right?” she asked Scott. Bethany had to stop herself from laughing. Her brother was a terrible bowler!

“Sort of...” Scott answered.

“Is it ‘sort of’, or ‘yes?’” Jackson pressed.

With as much confidence as he could muster, Scott said “Yes. In fact, I'm a great bowler”.

Bethany was incredibly temped to bang her head against the table at his statement. “This isn’t going to end well”, she mumbled to herself around her water bottle.

“How about you Beth? You a great bowler?” Jackson queried.

“Mediocre”, Bethany honestly answered.

“Well, why don’t you come with us?” he suggested.

“That’s nice of you to offer but I can’t. One, I don’t want to feel like the fifth wheel and two, I’ve actually got something going on tomorrow”, Bethany told him.

“Well…if you change your mind”, Jackson said.

“I…uh think about it”, Bethany promised. The Lacrosse player nodded and went back to his lunch.

\----------------

“You suck at bowling!” Bethany exclaimed as they walked down the stairs “I mean, you haven’t played since that birthday party when we were 8”.

“I know!” Scott groaned “I'm such an idiot”.

“God, it was like watching a car wreck”, Stiles complained.

“You got that right”, Bethany agreed.

“I mean, first, it turned into the whole group-date thing, and the out of nowhere comes that phrase ‘hang out’”, Stiles continued “You don't ‘hang out’ with hot girls, okay? It's like death. Once it's "hanging out," you might as well be her gay best friend. You and Danny can start hanging out”.

“How is this happening? I either killed a guy, or I didn't”, Scott said.

“That’s why we’re going to get Derek’s help”, Bethany said “to figure out whether or not you _hurt_ that guy”.

“Later. I’ve got to get to work now otherwise I’m gonna be late”, Scott said.

~Hale House~

Derek stood there, arms folded while Scott explained why he was there. “Okay, I know I was part of you getting arrested... and that we basically announced you being here to the hunters... I also don't know what happened to your sister... but, I think I did something last night. I had a dream about... someone... but someone else got hurt. And, it turns out that part of the dream might have actually happened...”

“You think you attacked the driver?” Derek asked.

“Did you see what I did last night?” Scott counter questioned.

“No”, Derek replied.

“Can you at least tell me the truth? Am I gonna hurt someone?” Scott queried.

“Yes”, Derek answered bluntly.

“Could I kill someone?” Scott asked.

“Yes”, Derek replied.

“Am I gonna kill someone?” Scott pressed.

Derek shrugged “Probably”, he said. He then sighed “Look, I can show you how to remember. I can show you how to control the shift, even on a full moon. But, it's not gonna come for free”. 

“What do you want?” Scott asked wary of what the price was going to be for Derek’s ‘help’.

“You'll find out”, Derek replied “But, for now, I'm gonna give you what you want. Go back to the bus. Go inside. See it, feel it... let your senses-- your sight, smell, touch-- let them remember for you”.

Scott raised his eyebrows “That's it? Just-just go back?” It seemed almost too simple. He figured that there had to be more than that.

“Do you want to know what happened?” Derek questioned.

“I just want to know if I hurt him”, Scott said.

“No, you don't”, Derek said, looking at him pointedly “you want to know if you'll hurt Beth and Allison”.

\---------------

The second Scott had come home from investigating the bus, Bethany jumped on him with the questions. “How did it go? Did you remember anything?”

“I remember everything. I wasn’t trying to kill the bus driver, I was trying to save him”, Scott replied.

Bethany lightly whacked him on the arm “see? Didn’t I tell you that’s what you were doing? And you dismissed it”, she said.

“Yeah, I know. You were right”, Scott admitted “but there’s something else. Derek was there too. _He_ attacked the driver”.

“What? Why would he attack the driver?” Bethany questioned, rather shocked by this.

“Stiles thinks it’s a pack thing, doing the kill together”, Scott answered.

“And what do you think?” Bethany asked.

“I don’t know. But it means that I’m not a killer! I’m not going to hurt you AND I can go out with Allison!” Scott said excitedly.

“That’s really good Scott”, Bethany said “so I guess that means you’re excited for bowling tomorrow?”

Scott’s smile immediately dropped “oh…god I’m going to do terrible”, he moaned.

“Probably”, Bethany agreed “or you may surprise yourself. Afterall you are a werewolf now. Good night Scott” and with that she headed into her bedroom.

\------------------------------

Bethany was once again disturbed by her brother but this time it wasn’t from a nightmare. “Scott?” she said looking at him sleepily “what’s wrong?”

“Derek didn’t kill the driver”, Scott replied “it was the Alpha”.

That had Bethany wide awake “Alpha?” she repeated “what Alpha?”

“There’s a another werewolf in this town. He’s the one who bit me and he’s the one who attacked the driver”, Scott explained.

“Why would he do that?” Bethany questioned “is it to get you in his pack?”

“Yes”, Scott answered.

“And…would you join it?” Bethany tentatively queried.

“No! I’m not going to join his pack”, Scott insisted “I don’t want to. And no matter what the Alpha does, I’ll never agree to it. I swear”.

Bethany could hear the sincerity in his voice “Ok, I believe you. But if you do start getting swayed, I’ll set you straight”, she promised.

Scott cracked a smile “Thanks Beth”, he said.

“Now shoo”, Bethany said, waving at the door “I wanna at least a few more hours of beauty sleep”.

“Ok, ok I’m going”, Scott said. He got up from the bed and walked out of the room.

\---------------------

School the next day passed without any real incident and the alpha werewolf talk was put on the backburner for the moment. “Hey Beth”, Lydia greeted, coming to a stop by the blonde as she came out of her last class.

“Hey Lydia. I heard bowling went really well”, Beth said.

“It did. Though next time you should come”, Lydia said “it’ll be more fun”.

“I’ll think about it”, Bethany promised.

“That’s all I ask. I’m gonna do some shopping. You want to come with?” the strawberry blonde asked.

“I’d love to but I’ve got homework to do”, Bethany admitted “sorry”.

“Bethany you’re smart enough that you can afford not to put so much effort in with homework”, Lydia remarked “so take a break, have a little fun”.

“Another time Lydia”, Bethany said.

The teen put her hands up, knowing that she couldn’t sway her “Ok. Enjoy the homework”, she said.

“I will”, Bethany said. She shifted her bag onto her shoulder “see you tomorrow Lydia”, she added before walking off down the corridor.

“Hey Beth!” Jackson called as she passed him.

“Hey”, Bethany greeted.

“I’m glad I caught you. There’s something I want to talk to you about”, Jackson said.

“What is it?” Bethany asked.

“Your brother”, Jackson replied, earning a look of confusion from the blonde “I know he’s on something. Otherwise how do you explain how he’s gotten so good at Lacrosse? Or why he was amazing at bowling”.

“He’s not on anything”, Bethany assured him.

“I don’t believe you. He’s on something. So what is it? Steroids?” Jackson pressed.

“My brother doesn’t do steroids. He takes the occasional aspirin and that’s it”, Bethany said. She tried to walk away but Jackson grabbed her arm.

“We’re not done”, he said.

“Yes we are”, Bethany shot back “now let go”.

“Not until you tell me the truth”, Jackson said.

“I _have_ ”, Bethany insisted “now let go!”

“You’re hidin-“, Jackson was abruptly cut off when he was pulled away and shoved up face first against the lockers by a rather ill looking Derek.

“She _said_ ‘let go’” the Beta Werewolf glanced at Bethany “are you ok?”

“I’m fine”, Bethany replied. Then she noticed him digging his claws into Jackson’s neck “uh…Derek?” she pointed at his hand. Derek looked at his hand, quickly releasing the jock. Bethany led him away.

“Are _you_ ok?” she asked him, concerned “you don’t look so good”.

“I was shot”, Derek answered, leaning against a wall.

“You were shot! By who?” Bethany exclaimed.

“An Argent. I don’t know who”, Derek replied.

“I’m guessing it wasn’t a normal bullet otherwise you wouldn’t be looking like you’re on your death bed”, Bethany stated.

“No, it wasn’t. Where’s your brother?”

“He’s probably on his way to Allison’s”, Bethany replied “why?”

“Because I need him to look for the bullet I was shot with”, Derek explained “it’s the only way to save my life”.

“I’ll call him, try to see if he’ll help”, Bethany said “but let’s get you somewhere safe first”. She carefully moved him away from the wall and escorted him to the parking lot where her car was.

“Oh, no, no, no! No, not here!” Scott complained when he saw Bethany taking Derek to her car. He hurried over as the werewolf collapsed to the ground. “What the hell are you doing here?” Scott demanded.

“He was shot by someone in Allison’s family”, Bethany replied, kneeling down beside Derek “it was some kind of ‘special’ bullet. That’s why he looks so bad”.

“I need you to find out what kind of bullet they used”, Derek said weakly.

“Why should I help you?” Scott asked not really that inclined to help someone who’s making his life very difficult AND who also seemed to be hanging around his sister a little too much for his liking.

“Because you need me”, Derek answered.

With that answer and his twin’s pleading look, he sighed “Fine. I'll try”. He helped his twin get Derek to his feet and into her car “get him somewhere safe”.

“I was going to do that anyway”, Bethany said. She got into the car “you better find that bullet fast”, she added “I don’t know how long he’s got” and with that she drove away.

Scott rushed over to where Stiles was standing by his car “Can you…?”

“Follow them?” Stiles cut in, figuring that’s what he wanted him to do.

“I just want to know that Beth is safe”, Scott said.

“Say no more, I’m on it”, Stiles said. If he was in Scott’s shoes, he’d ask the same thing. He hopped into his jeep and drove after Bethany.

\-------------------

Bethany cast a glance at Derek, reaching over to place a hand over his “hold on ok, we’re almost there”, she assured him.

“Almost where?” Derek asked fighting to stay awake.

“Your house”, Bethany answered.

“What?! No, you can't take me there”, the werewolf said alarmed, suddenly awake.

“Why not?” Bethany questioned, confused.

“I won’t be able to protect myself or you, not in the state I’m in”, Derek answered. That really was one of his biggest fears, not being able to protect his True Mate.

“Ok so if I can’t take you back to your house, where can I take you?” Bethany asked.

“I don’t know. Anywhere else”, Derek replied.

Bethany sighed “I’ll see if Scott knows somewhere we can go”, she said and dialled her brother.

_“Little busy here Beth”_ , Scott said when he answered.

“Well, I’ve got a bit a of a problem. I don’t know where to take Derek. He doesn’t want to going to his house and ours is out so…”

_“Take him to the animal clinic”_

“What about Deaton?” Bethany asked.

“ _He's gone by now. There's a spare key in the box behind the dumpster_ ”, Scott instructed.

“Alright, I’ll take him there”, Bethany said. To Derek she added “You'll not gonna believe where he's telling me to take you”.

Derek gestured for the phone and Bethany handed it over “Did you find it?” he asked.

_“How am I supposed to find one bullet? They have a million! This house is like the frickin' Walmart of guns!”_ Scott complained.

“Look, if you don't find it, then I'm dead, all right?” Derek reminded him.

“ _I'm starting to think that wouldn't be such a bad thing...”_ Scott mumbled but the older Beta heard him. Bethany also just about picked it up with her ears. She snatched the phone back from Derek.

“Don’t you dare say that”, she snapped “Derek doesn’t deserve to die. Besides, he’s the only one who can help you learn how to control the wolf AND you won’t be able to resist the Alpha without him so please, find that bullet” Bethany then hung up, dropping it into the cupholder next to her. She let out a breath “its gonna be ok”, she said more to herself than Derek “its gonna be fine”.

The beta placed a hand over hers, making her glance at him. “It _will_ be fine”, he assured her. If Scott didn’t come through with the bullet then he had a last resort. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to use it.

Bethany sighed “I hope so”, she muttered.

\----------------

It didn’t take too much longer for the pair to reach the animal clinic. Bethany hopped out of the car but didn’t help Derek out just yet, there was someone she needed to deal with first. She walked up to Stiles’ jeep and banged on the window, making the teenaged owner jump. “Considering your dad’s a cop, you suck at tailing”, Bethany stated, folding her arms, giving him a disapproving look “but since you’re here… you can help me with Derek”. Without waiting for a response, she turned and headed back to her vehicle. On the way, Bethany’s phone chimed. She took it out to find that she had a text from her brother.

_Bullet was in a box with an inscription in french: Northern Blue Monkshood_

Bethany quickly fired back a message, telling him they’d gotten to the animal clinic. “Does Northern Blue Monkshood mean anything to you?” the blonde asked Derek.

“It's a rare form of wolfsbane”, Derek replied “Scott’s got to bring me the bullet”.

“Why?” Stiles asked.

“'Cause I'm gonna die without it”, Derek answered weakly. Bethany opened the car door and carefully helped him out. Between herself and Stiles, they got the werewolf into the clinic.

The male teen gagged at the sight of the wound on Derek’s arm when he removed his shirt to show black veins traveling up his arm. Bethany cringed at how bad it looked. “Okay, you know, that really doesn't look like anything some echinacea and a good night's sleep couldn't take care of...” Stiles remarked, in his usual jokey way.

“When the infection reaches my heart, it'll kill me”, Derek panted.

“’Positivity’” just isn't in your vocabulary, is it?” Stiles sassed.

“If he doesn't get here with the bullet in time-- last resort”, Derek said searching the draws and cupboards.

“Which is...?” Stiles questioned.

“You're gonna cut off my arm”, Derek answered holding up a saw.

“That’s your last resort?! Amputation!” Bethany exclaimed.

“Yes”, Derek said.

“Its insane! Instead of wolfsbane poison, you could bleed to death”, Bethany stated.

“It'll heal...”, Derek assured her.

“I…I can’t watch this”, Bethany said putting her hands up and quickly left the room. Derek watched her go, as did Stiles, the latter rather wanting to do the same. The last thing he wanted to do was cutting off Derek’s arm.

“Look I don’t think I can do this”, he admitted to Derek who shot him an annoyed look.

“Why not?” he demanded.

“Well, because of the cutting through the flesh, the sawing of the bone, and especially the blood!” Stiles cried, exasperated.

Derek’s eyebrows raised, incredulous “You faint at the sight of blood?”

“No, but I might at the sight of a chopped-off arm!” Stiles shot back.

Derek sighed “All right, fine. How about this-- either you cut off my arm, or I'm gonna cut off your head”, he threatened.

Stiles scoffed “Okay, you know what? Your threat doesn’t scare me in any—” he was abruptly cut off when Derek grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him partially over the table.

“Derek! Let him go!” Bethany shouted. The pair looked over at her to see she had the bullet in her hand, Scott behind her. Derek released Stiles and Bethany handed over the bullet.

“What are you gonna do with it?” Stiles asked, a tiny bit shook up by what the Beta had just done.

“I'm gonna...I'm gonna...” Derek trailed off as he passed out, the bullet falling out of his hand, rolling over to a grate and falling between the bars.

“No! No, no, no, no...” Scott exclaimed, getting to his knees and tried to reach to the bullet with his fingers.

“Derek! Derek, come on, wake up!” Stiles shouted shaking the older werewolf “He's not waking up...”

“Out of the way”, Bethany said shoving Stiles aside. The teenager watched anxiously as the blonde performed CPR on the werewolf. She did three chest compressions before tilting his head back, taking a deep breath and pressed her lips against his, forcing air into his lungs. The moment this happened, Derek’s eyes flew open. His wolf was _very_ pleased that his Mate was kissing him. Well, he knew that Bethany was giving him mouth to mouth though his inner animal thought otherwise. In all honesty it took every fibre of his being to keep her there in order to prolong the ‘kiss’ when she began to move back.

Bethany helped him up, keeping him steady while Scott very slowly extracted the wolfsbane bullet from the grate. “I got it! I got it!” the teen cheered, holding it up. Scott gave it to Derek who broke it open and tipped the contents onto the table. He then set the ashes alight, forcing all 3 of them to briefly look away from the brightness.

Bethany made a face when Derek stuffed the ashes into the bullet wound. Derek screamed in pain falling to the floor. The 3 teens watched as he thrashed in pain, the black veins crawling back toward the bullet wound and then the wound vanished.

“That. Was. Awesome!!!” Stiles cheered. Bethany shot him a look of disbelief before helping Derek sit up.

“You ok?” she asked him softly.

“Yeah, I’m ok”, Derek replied with a lack of sarcasm which surprised Stiles.

“Okay, we saved your life, which means you're gonna leave us alone”, Scott said firmly as Bethany helped Derek up “You got that? And, if you don't, I'm gonna go back to Allison's dad, and I'm gonna tell him everything”.

“Scott you can’t”, Bethany said, appalled that he was even consider trusting Allison’s dad after everything he knew about the man.

“Why not Beth?” Scott challenged.

“Well, for one an Argent shot Derek and for another Allison’s _dad_ shot YOU”, Bethany countered.

“He didn’t know it was me”, Scott reminded her “and her dad is much nicer than him” he pointed to Derek.

“I can show you exactly how nice they are”, Derek said, angrily.

“What do you mean?” Scott asked.

“We need to take a trip”, Derek said.

~Beacon Hills long term residential home~

“Who’s he?” Scott asked looking at the man sitting in a wheelchair.

“My uncle-- Peter Hale”, Derek replied.

“Is he... like you? A Werewolf?” Scott questioned.

“He was. Now, he's barely even human”, Derek answered.

“What happened to him?” Bethany asked.

“Six years ago, my sister and I were at school, and our house caught fire. Eleven people were trapped inside. He was the only survivor”, Derek explained.

“I’m so sorry”, Bethany said softly.

“So... what makes you so sure that they set the fire?” Scott queried.

“'Cause they're the only ones that knew about us”, Derek answered, in an angry tone. Bethany reached out and touched his hand, the werewolf calming slightly from it.

“Well, then... they had a reason...” Scott said, awkwardly.

“Like what?” Derek demanded, his anger peaked “You tell me what justifies this” he turned his uncle around to show Scott and Bethany the horrible burns on his face. Bethany clapped a hand over her mouth, horrified by it. “They say they'll only kill an adult, and only with absolute proof, but there were people in my family that were perfectly ordinary in that fire. This is what they do. And it's what Allison WILL do”

“Allison isn’t like that”, Bethany said, defending the girl.

“Not yet. But she will be. It’s in her blood”, Derek told her.

“What are you doing? How did you get in here?” a nurse asked from the doorway.

“We were just leaving”, Derek said. The trio left the residential home.


	5. Mystery Houses and 'Mountain Lions'

Bethany sighed for the nth time. She was trying to focus on her homework but the face of Derek’s uncle kept appearing in her mind. She set her pen down. “Maybe a walk will help”, she muttered. Bethany grabbed her jacket and headed out.

The teen walked down the road, hands in her pockets. She didn’t have a particular destination in mind and was surprised when she ended up in front of boarded up house. Bethany tilted her head, eyeing the two storey building curiously. There was something familiar about it though she knew that she’d never been here before. Bethany walked up the steps and was about to put her hand on the door when her phone rang. “Oh, hey Lydia!” the blonde greeted.

 _“Beth are you free? I need some help buying some new shoes”_ , her strawberry blonde haired friend said.

“As a matter of fact, I am”, Bethany said “I’ll meet you at your house”. She tucked her phone away and walked down the steps. Across the road, Theo Rigel stared at his little sister. He’d never expected to see her at their old house considering that her mind had been wiped. How did she know where they used to live? Theo took out his phone and was about to dial his father when he stopped. He never wanted her to forget who she was in the first place. And he was not about to give his parents the heads up that Erin was starting to remember. Theo put his phone away and continued walking, acting as though he hadn’t seen his little sister after so long.

\------------------

The mystery house was the farthest thing from Bethany’s mind as she sat in Chemistry class the next day. Actually, she didn’t even think about where she’d ended up on her walk. “Just a friendly reminder-- parent-teacher conferences are tonight”, Harris told the students in the class as he walked around the room “Students below a C-average are required to attend. I won't name you, because the shame and self-disgust should be more than enough punishment” he stopped by Bethany’s table “Miss McCall, do you know where your brother is?”

“Sorry Mr Harris. I don’t know”, Bethany replied.

“Well, when you do see him, please let him know that I’m looking forward to talking to your mother tonight”, Harris said.

“Will do”, Bethany told him. Jackson entered the room and sat down at the table behind her.

“Hey, Jackson-- if you need to leave early for any reason, you let me know”, Harris said to him in a surprisingly kind tone “Everyone, start reading chapter nine”, he added in a louder voice. Bethany waited until he was gone before she turned to Jackson.

“How are you holding up?” she asked. She’d found out about the attack at the video store from her brother and naturally she was concerned for Jackson and Lydia of course.

“Fine”, Jackson answered, though Bethany could tell that he wasn’t holding up well at all. She nodded and turned back to her book when Jackson spoke up again “I’m sorry for grabbing you the other day”.

“Its ok. You just wanted answers, I get it”, Bethany said.

“I still shouldn’t have done that”, Jackson continued “so I’m sorry”.

“You’re forgiven”, Bethany said.

“Really?” Jackson asked.

“Really”, the blonde confirmed.

“Thanks Beth”, Jackson said, relieved that she’d forgiven him. Bethany gave him a small smile before she turned back to her textbook. She discretely took out her phone and shot a quick text to her brother.

\-------------------------------

“Scott, this is your sister calling you for the billionth time”, Bethany said into her phone “pick up the damn phone otherwise I’m going to kick your ass”. She clicked off and stuffed her mobile into her pocket with an annoyed huff. Her brother picked the worst possible moment to skip school. And if he didn’t make it back in time for the parent-teacher conference…he was likely to be grounded for life.

“Beth!” Stiles called. The blonde turned to see her brother’s best friend running up. “Have you managed to get hold of Scott yet?”

“Afraid not”, Bethany replied.

“Well, we’ve got to hold of him!” Stiles exclaimed “Lydia is totally MIA, Jackson looks like he's got a time bomb inserted in his face…another random guy's dead…and Scott has gone walkabout!!”

Bethany grabbed his arms “Stiles, calm down”, she said “I will keep trying to contact my brother…” she trailed off when her phone rang. She took it out and popped it on speaker seeing that it was her brother. “About time”, she said in a scolding tone.

_“What do you want Beth?”_

Before Bethany could say anything, Stiles jumped right in. “We have a serious situation here! You’ve got to do something about it!”

 _“Like what?”_ Scott asked.

“Something!!!” Stiles demanded.

 _“Okay, I'll deal with it later”_ , Scott said.

“Scott you-“ Bethany started when the phone was cut off. The blonde dialled Scott but just got his voicemail. Bethany didn’t bother to leave one though.

“Now what do we do?” Stiles asked.

“Not much we can do short of driving around for ages trying to find my wayward brother”, Bethany replied with a sigh.

“I might go see Lydia…” Stiles mused aloud “see how she’s doing”.

“I’ll come with you”, Bethany said.

\----------------------------

A rather dozy Lydia inclined her head towards the door of her bedroom when she heard it open. “Honey, Bethany is here and a… Stiles? They’re here to see you”.

“What the hell is a ‘Stiles?’” Lydia slurred. Natalie glanced at Bethany and Stiles, feeling rather awkward.

“She took a little something to ease her nerves”, she explained “You both can go in”.

“Thanks”, Bethany said and she and Stiles entered the room.

“Hey Beth”, Lydia greeted, twisting around to lay on her side, hand propped on one hip.

“Hey”, Bethany greeted back.

Lydia eyed Stiles “what are you doing here?”

“I was just making sure you were okay”, Stiles replied.

“Why?” Lydia questioned.

“We heard about what happened and were worried about you”, Bethany explained “How are you feeling?”

“I feel... fantastic”, Lydia answered with an almost blissful look on her face.

Stiles edged around the bed, picking up Lydia’s pill bottle “Oh…” he breathed. He glanced at the strawberry blonde “I bet you can't say, uh, ‘I saw Susie sitin' in a shoe-shine shop’ ten times fast”, he challenged.

“I saw shuzy--I shaw—” Lydia’s gaze slid away from Bethany “I saw...”

“What did you see?” Bethany asked, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

“Something...” Lydia murmured.

“Something... like a mountain lion?” Stiles suggested.

“A mountain lion...” Lydia said slowly.

“Are you sure you saw a mountain lion, or are you just saying that because that's what the police told you?” Bethany gently urged.

“A mountain lion...” Lydia repeated, dazed.

Stiles set down her pill bottle and picked up her toy giraffe “What's this?” he asked.

“A mountain lion…” Lydia repeated again.

“I think we should go”, Bethany suggested to Stiles.

“Yeah”, he agreed. Bethany started to get up when Lydia reached for her.

“Mmm... stay...Beth…don’t wanna be alone…” she slurred.

“Ok, I’ll stay”, Bethany said “you better go Stiles. I’ll let you know how she is”.

Stiles looked back at the medicated girl he’d had a crush on since forever and reluctantly nodded. “Talk you to later”, Stiles said before he left.

“Thanks for staying Beth”, Lydia mumbled, her eyes fluttering shut, falling asleep.

“You’re welcome”, Bethany said patting her arm. Lydia’s phone chimed and she glanced over at it. She really shouldn’t look at it…it was private. “Ah hell”, the blonde muttered, picking it up. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was a video of a creature with red eyes crashing through a window. “Oh my god…” she breathed “the alpha”.

It was no wonder Derek was so eager to get Scott to work with him. The thing was a monster! She quickly send it to herself, Scott and Stiles before she deleted it from Lydia’s phone. The last thing she needed was for her friend to see it after her ordeal.

\------------------

“What the hell were you thinking?” was the first thing Bethany heard when she came through the front door of her house. Her mother and Scott were standing in the hall, the former shouting at the latter. “Skipping school, today of all days”

“That’s what I’d like to know”, Bethany said “where were you?”

“Your brother thought it would be a good idea to play truant with Allison”, Melissa said, answering for Scott.

“Oh”, Bethany said.

“You better start getting your grades up otherwise you wont be seeing her again”, Melissa threatened “now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go to bed. Had a long day”.

Bethany watched her mother leave “please tell me it was worth it”, she said.

“It was”, Scott said “it really, really was”.

“Good”, Bethany said. She then slugged him hard in the arm.

“Ow! What was that for?” Scott exclaimed, rubbing his arm.

“For skipping school, jackass”, Bethany stated “and for not telling me where you were” and with that she headed upstairs, leaving her brother in the hall.

\-------------------------------

Scott groaned loudly during Bethany’s explanation of trigonometry. “I don’t get it”, he complained, tossing his book down “it’s too hard!”

“I know it’s hard that’s why you need to study”, Bethany said “you don’t get those grades up, they may kick you from the team and I’m pretty sure that not what you want”.

“No”, Scott sighed “its not” he picked up his book “right, lets get back to the Hippopotamus”.

Bethany laughed “it’s hypotenuse”, she corrected.

“And that’s why I need your help”, Scott admitted. The siblings got back into the work, Bethany doing her best to explain it all to her brother in as simplest terms as possible so he would understand.

There was a knock at the door “Come in mom”, Bethany called. Melissa entered to see her children studying.

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t realise you were busy”, she said.

“Not busy enough for you mom”, Bethany said, setting aside her textbook “whats up?”

“I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind picking up some shopping tonight”, Melissa replied.

“Sure”, Bethany said.

“Thanks honey”, Melissa said, gratefully and left the room.

“Before you ask, you’re not coming with me”, Bethany told her brother as she got up from her desk.

“What? Why not?” Scott asked.

“You got studying to do”, Bethany answered.

“But I’ve done so much”, Scott griped “I need a break”.

Bethany sighed “fine”, she said.

\---------------------

“We’re not on this floor”, Bethany said as she and Scott stepped out onto the 3rd floor of the parking garage, both carrying bags of shopping.

“Yes we are”, Scott retorted. Beth sighed and took out her keys, pressing the button. They heard the sound of a car door unlocking ABOVE them.

“Told ya”, Beth said smugly tucking her keys back into her pocket. The twins stepped back into the stairwell and headed up to level 4.

A milk bottle toppled out of Scott’s bag “damn it”, he muttered.

“I’ll get it”, Bethany said, setting her bags down and followed the rolling milk bottle. She crouched down, reaching under a car for it when it came back into view with four slashes in it. Then there was a low growling causing Bethany to fall back next to her brother.

“Run”, he hissed at her before grabbing her hand and pulling her away. The twins shoes smacked the concrete as they pelted as fast as they could from their pursuer. Bethany and Scott ducked down behind a car, panting and hearts beating wildly. They stayed there for a moment until they heard growls coming closer. Scott yanked Bethany to her feet and they started running again.

Bethany barely stifled a yelp when her brother picked her up, leaping from car to car, setting the alarms off. “That was clever”, she murmured quietly after Scott set her down, the pair hiding behind a car.

“Thanks he whispered back, his ears straining to hear anything over to noise of the multiple car alarms. “Oh, crap!” he cursed when his phone suddenly went off. He fumbled with his phone, struggling to end the call. Bethany snatched it from him and turned it off. The blonde screamed when Scott was grabbed from above. She jumped up to see Derek pinning him to the hood.

“You're dead”, the older Beta stated “sorry Beth”, he added, glancing at the blonde.

“No worries”, Bethany said rubbing her chest, her heart hammering away under her palm. Derek moved back, allowing Scott to get up.

“What the hell was that?!” he demanded.

“I said I was gonna teach you-- I didn't say when”, Derek said.

“You scared the crap out of us!” Scott exclaimed gesturing to himself and Bethany.

“Not yet”, Derek said wryly.

“Okay, but I was fast, right?” Scott questioned.

“Not fast enough”, Derek said.

“That’s because I had my sister with me. She’s only human, she can’t run as fast as me”, Scott shot back “no offense Beth”, he added to his twin.

“None taken”, Bethany said “it’s true, I slowed you down” to Derek, she said “maybe should’ve waited till he was alone. Given him a better chance”.

“I had to see how he would be when you were both in danger”, Derek explained “and if I’d been the Alpha, you’d both be dead”.

“That’s why I need you to teach me how to control this so I can protect myself, Beth and anyone else”, Scott stated.

Derek sighed “Look, I am what I am because of birth. You were bitten. Teaching someone who was bitten takes time. I don't even know if I can teach you”, he said.

“What do I have to do?” Scott asked.

“You have to get rid of distractions”, Derek replied. He took Scott’s phone out of Bethany’s hand “You see this? This is why I caught you” he waved it at the teenager “You want me to teach you? Get rid of Allison”.

Scott scoffed “What, just because of her family?” in retaliation Derek threw his phone to the floor, destroying it “what the hell?!”

“You getting angry?” he asked “That's your first lesson. You want to learn how to control this. How to shift-- you do it through anger, by tapping into a primal animal rage, and you can't do that with _her_ around”.

“I can get angry”, Scott insisted through gritted teeth.

“Not angry enough”, Derek retorted “This is the only way that I can teach you” he sighed “Now, can you stay away from her? At least until after the full moon?”

Scott nodded in agreement “If that's what it takes”, he said.

“Do you want to live? Do you want to protect your sister and your friends? Yes, or no?” Derek asked, firmly.

“Yes. If you can teach me, I can stay away from her”, Scott said. Bethany wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt but given that he’s a teenaged boy in love…she would give him about two hours before he went off to see Allison.


	6. Scott's Anchors

Bethany watched her brother, mildly amused as he tried to actively avoid Allison, Jackson and Lydia. “Do not say a word”, Scott said to the blonde.

“I’m not gonna say anything”, Bethany said and then she started to laugh.

“It’s not funny!” Scott exclaimed “how does Derek expect me to stay away from our friends until after the full moon? It’s hard!”

“Yeah, but its worth it”, Bethany said “he’s teaching you how to control the wolf so you don’t hurt anyone”.

“Not really liking the way he’s ‘teaching’ me”, Scott muttered “I’m starting to think Stiles would be better suited for the job”.

“I’m not so sure on that part. However, I think he does need to be included more”, Bethany admitted “he’s probably upset you went to Derek for help instead of your best friend”.

Scott sighed “yeah, I’ve got some serious apologising to do”, he said.

“Yes. Yes you do”, Bethany agreed.

\----------------

The siblings sat down in their respective seats in the classroom, Scott behind Stiles and Bethany to his left. “Hey, Stiles. How’s your dad doing?” Bethany asked.

“He’s fine”, Stiles replied “still needs a bit more rest”.

“Stiles, I’m sorry I went to Derek for help”, Scott said and Stiles looked straight ahead, pretending to ignore him “I’m just…trying to figure this whole thing out”.

“If I was talking to you, I'd say that you're an idiot for trusting him”, Stiles said sternly “But, obviously, I'm not talking to you...” Bethany glanced at him, expectantly. She knew that Stiles’ curiosity was going to outweigh how upset he was at his best friend. Right on cue, he sighed and turned to Scott “What did he say?”

“Well…” Bethany started.

“He wants you to tap into your animal side and get angry?” Stiles asked, incredulously as he, Scott and Bethany left the classroom less than an hour later. The siblings had explained the best they could as to what Derek wanted, in between listening to the teacher and doing their work.

“Yeah...” Scott sighed.

"All right, well, correct me if I'm wrong, but every time you do that, you try to kill someone, and that someone's usually me or Beth", Stiles said sarcastically.

Scott ran a frustrated hand through his hair "I know", he said "That's what he means when he says he doesn't know if he can teach me. I have to be able to control it".

"Well, how's he gonna teach you to do that?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know", Scott admitted "I don't think he does, either…"

"His idea the other day was pretty good", Bethany spoke up. Scott stared at her in disbelief. Did she bump her head or something? Cos Derek chasing them down was a bloody awful idea!

"How is him chasing us down through a parking lot, a pretty good idea?" he demanded "it scared the crap out of me and I wasn't prepared".

"Scott, the Alpha isn't going to give you the heads up next time he comes out to play. So it would be pointless for Derek to do the same", Bethany pointed out. Scott opened his mouth to argue but quickly closed it when he saw that she had a point.

“So when are you seeing him again?” Stiles asked wanting to know how much time he’ll have to help his best friend control the wolf.

“He told me not to talk about it. Just act normal and get through the day”, Scott answered.

“If by ‘act normal’, you mean acting weird and skittish trying to avoid every one…then you’d get a gold star for it”, Bethany teased. Scott just shot her an annoyed look. “What? I call it how I see it”, the blonde added with a shrug.

“When?” Stiles questioned, again.

“He's picking me up at the animal clinic after work”, Scott replied.

“After work”, Stiles, repeated, nodding “All right. Well, that gives me to the end of the school day, then…”

Scott frowned “To do what?”

“To teach you myself”, Stiles said in a duh tone.

“You got a plan?” Bethany queried.

“Uh…not yet”, Stiles admitted “I’ll tell you at lunch”. 

\--------------------

Bethany had planned to sit with her brother and Stiles at lunch but Allison made her sit with herself and Lydia. Something about sharing a little family history. The blonde gave Scott and apologetic look as she sat by the brunette. “So, what did you want to share?” she asked Allison.

Allison showed her and Lydia an old book “My aunt gave me this. It’s about the Beast of Gevaudan”, she explained. She opened up the book and started to read aloud “’A quadruped wolf-like monster, prowling the Auvergne and south Dordogne areas of France during the year 1764 to 1767. La Bête killed over a hundred people, becoming so infamous that the King Louis XXV sent one of his best hunters to try and kill it’”.

Lydia sighed, picking at her food “Boring”.

“I’m finding it interesting, read on Allison”, Bethany said.

“’Even the Church eventually declared the monster a messenger of Satan. Cryptozoologists believe it may have been a subspecies of hoofed predator, possibly a mesonychid…’”

Lydia rolled her eyes “Slipping-into-a-coma bored”, she muttered.

“’While others believe it was a powerful sorcerer who could shapeshift into a man-eating monster’”, Allison continued as if Lydia hadn’t spoken.

“Sounds remarkably like a Werewolf”, Bethany remarked “if they were real that is”.

“I suppose it does”, Allison agreed.

“Any of this have anything to do with your family?” Lydia said tiredly.

“This”, Allison replied “’It is believe that La Bête was finally trapped and killed by a renowned hunter who claimed his wife and four children were the first to fall prey to the creature. His name was Argent’. There’s also an little bit about a lady named Adrianna Rigel who was some kind of ‘protector’. She apparently aided Argent in defeating La Bête”.

Lydia looked at Allison, really unimpressed “Your ancestors killed a big wolf thing”, she stated “So what?”

“Not just a big wolf”, Allison turned the book around, showing Lydia the illustration of the beast “Take a look at this picture. What does it look like to you?”

The strawberry blonde stared at the picture, her mind flashing back to when she saw that creature outside that store. “Lydia? You ok?” Bethany asked, concerned for her friend. She could see the beast did look rather frightening and it did remind her of the video that she’d seen on Lydia’s phone.

“It looks... like a big... wolf”, Lydia said snidely. She gathered up her belongings “See you both in history”, she added and with that she left.

Allison and Bethany exchanged looks “that beast pic really shook up Lydia”, the former stated “wonder why”.

“I don’t know Allison”, Bethany said “anyway, I gotta go too. See you later”. Allison watched her go over to Scott and Stiles. She quickly got up and followed after the trio as she wanted to talk to Scott. The two males quickly disappeared into the boys bathroom while Bethany walked down the hall toward her locker.

“Beth wait!” Allison called chasing after her. The blonde stopped walking and turned to her “your brother is avoiding me. Why?” she asked.

“I have no idea”, Bethany replied. She felt bad for lying to Allison but she had to keep Scott’s secret from her. “He’s just being weirder than normal today, that’s all”, she explained “and I do need to get going, Allison”. Without waiting for a response, Bethany turned and walked away.

Eventually Stiles revealed his plan to Scott and Bethany on the field which involved Scott wearing a heart monitor so they could keep track of his heart rate while Stiles hit him with balls. “This isn’t going to end well”, Bethany muttered stepping back, watching Stiles fire ball after ball at Scott with his lacrosse stick. “Uh…Stiles! Stop!” Bethany shouted as her brother broke free of the rope, dropping to his knees at the same time the app on the phone went crazy as Scott’s heart rate went through the roof. She got down in front of her twin, worriedly watching him change. “Scott, take control”, she said softly “I know you can do this”.

Scott heard his sister and began to relax, his face turning back to normal. “Thanks Beth”, he said, looking up at her.

“Your welcome”, Bethany said.

“Scott, you started to change—” Stiles began.

“From anger”, Scott cut in “But it was more than that-- it was like, the angrier I got, the stronger I felt”.

“No it IS anger, then. Derek's right”, Stiles admitted, not too happy about it.

“I can't be around Allison”, Scott said glumly.

“Just because she makes you happy?” Stiles asked.

“No... Because she makes me weak”, Scott replied, dropping his head to the grass. Bethany rubbed his shoulder sympathetically.

“All right. You stay away from her for a few days. You can do that”, Stiles said, optimistically.

“But is it a few days, or is it forever?” Scott asked, getting up from the ground.

“You know, this whole ‘women make you weak’ thing is a little too Spartan warrior for me”, Stiles remarked “It's probably just part of the learning process”.

“Yeah, but you've seen Derek”, Scott reminded them “I mean, the guy's totally alone. What if I can, like, never be around her again?”

“Don’t think like that”, Bethany said “If you can be around us with minimal problems then with practice, you can be with Allison”.

“I hope you’re right”, Scott mumbled.

“Of course I’m right!” Bethany said “I’m a girl so I know what I’m talking about”.

\---------------------

“Let's go! Sit, sit, sit, sit. We got a lot to cover today. Let's go! Quicker!” Coach Finstock said as everyone filed into his classroom.

“Hey, Stiles. Sit behind me, dude”, Scott said as he slid into his seat. Unfortunately, Allison beat Stiles to it.

“I haven't seen you all day”, Allison said to him.

“Uh, yeah, I've been, uh, super busy...” Scott stammered, nervously. He glanced at Bethany, who nodded encouraging at him.

“When are you gonna get your phone fixed?” Allison continued “I feel like I'm totally disconnected from you”.

“Uh, soon. Real soon”, Scott answered. He really wished that it was Stiles sitting behind him or even his sister. Being this close to Allison was making his heart race which wasn’t going to be him any good when he hadn’t even gotten his wolf side fully under control yet.

“I changed lab partners, by the way”, Allison informed him “to you”.

Scott, blinked at her, surprised “Me? I mean, are you sure?”

“Yeah! This way, I have an excuse to bring you home and study” her smile dropped when it looked like Scott wasn’t too happy about that “You don't mind, do you?”

“I just-- I don't want to bring your grade down...” Scott mumbled. That’s why Bethany usually helped him study, her grades were usually so good that there was no danger of him bringing them down.

“Well, I mean, maybe I can bring your grade up”, Allison playfully countered “Come to my place tonight. Eight-thirty?”

“Tonight?” Scott repeated. He looked to Bethany again who gave him a thumbs up. “Alright, tonight it is”, he said, confidently. If his sister thinks it’s a good idea then he’d trust her.

“Ok, everyone settle down!” Coach Finstock called, gaining everyone’s attention “Let's start with a quick summary of last night's reading. How about, uh...” he looked over the students “McCall” he pointed to Scott.

“What?” Scott asked, alarmed.

Coach Finstock raised his brows “The reading?”

“Last night's reading”, Scott said. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Bethany mouth ‘trade barriers’. Oh! Yes that was the reading! Luckily Bethany had gotten him to do some of the reading in advance. “The reading was about…Trade Barriers”.

“Which are?” Coach Finstock pressed.

“Trade barriers are government policies which place restrictions on international trade. Trade barriers can either make trade more difficult and expensive or prevent trade completely ie trade embargo”, Scott recited. The Gym Coach and Economics teacher gaped at the teen, completely astounded. Bethany just looked at her brother proudly. Allison reached under her desk and took Scott’s hand, smiling at him. Both Stiles and Bethany noticed this.

\------------------------

“It's her”, Stiles stated as he, Scott and Bethany left the Economics class “and you, Beth”.

“What do you mean?” Scott asked, confused.

“Come again?” Bethany questioned, equally as lost.

“You and Allison are able to bring Scott back, give him some kind of control”, Stiles explained.

“I don’t see how. I mean, he tried to kill me in the locker room”, Bethany reminded him making Scott wince at the memory.

“Yes, but _you_ shouted at him which made him change back”, Stiles pointed out. He turned to Scott “the thing that drove you on the night of the first full moon, protecting your sister and Allison. Plus don’t forget the lacrosse game, you heard both of their voices out on the field”.

“Yeah, I did...” Scott nodded.

“Also on the field earlier, Bethany urged you to come back”, Stiles added.

The blonde’s eyes widened at the realisation “So…you’re saying that Allison and I are some kind of anchors for Scott?”

“In a way, yes”, Stiles confirmed “however, you won’t be able to be around them all the time”.

“Think positive Stiles. We now know that Allison and I are Scott’s ‘anchors’”, Bethany said “that’s a step in the right direction”.

“She’s right, it is”, Scott agreed. He was feeling a bit better with this new knowledge.

“And now I have an idea”, Stiles said with a grin. _Oh, boy_ Bethany thought _I know this isn’t gonna end well_.

“You know, I have a ton of homework to do”, she said “so I’ll leave you two it. Just don’t get into trouble”. She was probably going to regret those words later since this is her brother and Stiles. Trouble magnets.

\---------------------

Bethany was very surprised when she was called to the school a few hours later. She was even more surprised to see Derek there too. “What exactly is the reason you asked me to come here?” she asked her twin with her hands on her hips.

“Well, I need to you to stay with Derek and keep an eye on Deaton”, Scott replied. He nodded to the man who was tied up in the back of Derek’s car.

Bethany frowned “Deaton?” she repeated “why is your boss here?”

“Derek thinks he’s the Alpha”, Scott explained.

“Are you serious?” Bethany exclaimed “I’ve known him for years. There’s no way he’s the Alpha”.

“That’s why we’re here”, Scott said “I’m going to prove it”.

“Pray tell me, _how_ are you going to prove it?” Bethany questioned.

“Just wait and see Beth”, Scott replied “and keep an eye on Deaton”. Derek and Bethany watched Scott and Stiles enter the school.

“He doesn’t have a plan, does he”, the beta Werewolf stated to the blonde.

“I highly doubt it”, Bethany said. They were only waiting a minute or two when there was a noise over the PA system that sounded like a dying cat. “What the hell was that?” Bethany asked.

“That was your brother trying to howl”, Derek replied.

“Howl?” Bethany repeated, incredulous “it sounded like a cat dying. I bet that’s the….” She trailed off when she heard a deafening roar “oh, bloody hell!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands over her ears.

“I’m gonna kill them”, Derek growled. That roar wasn’t just going to attract the Alpha, it was likely to bring the entire state to the school! Those stupid boys just put his True Mate in serious danger! Scott and Stiles joined them moments later. “What the hell was that? What are you trying to do, attract the entire state to the school?” Derek demanded.

“Sorry... I didn't know it would be that loud...” Scott said, sheepishly.

“Yeah, it was loud... and it was AWESOME!” Stiles cried, excitedly.

“Shut up”, Derek said, irritably.

“Don't be such a sour-wolf!” Stiles mocked.

“I’m not sure I’d call it awesome Stiles”, Bethany remarked rubbing her ears “nearly made me deaf”.

“Hey, where’s Deaton?” Scott asked, suddenly noticing that he was no longer in Derek’s car.

“He was here”, Bethany said, turning to the car. The man must’ve managed to get out while they were distracted with Scott’s oh so ingenious plan.

“What'd you do with him?” Scott demanded to Derek.

“I didn't do anything!” the Werewolf insisted. Scott opened his mouth to argue when all of a sudden a set of vicious looking claws was plunged through Derek’s back! Bethany screamed as the Alpha lifted him up and tossed him aside. Scott grabbed her and dragged her towards the school, Stiles hurrying after them.

“He killed him”, Bethany breathed, sinking to the floor in shock as Scott and Stiles slammed the fire doors shut “the Alpha killed him”.


	7. The Unexpected Kiss

“We gotta lock these doors!” Scott exclaimed, looking toward Stiles.

“Do I look like I have a key?” Stiles shot back.

“Then grab something!” Scott demanded while Bethany grasped her hair, her breathing quickening as she went into a panic attack. “Hey, hey Beth”, Scott said softly coming down to her level “it’s going to be ok. Just breathe”.

“I…can’t!” Bethany cried.

“Yes, you can”, Scott said firmly “breathe with me”. He took deep breaths and slowly but surely Bethany joined in, relaxing with each breath she took.

“Thank you”, the blonde said. They were then both startled when the fire door slammed shut again and saw Stiles out of breath, sliding the handles of the bolt cutters through the bars of the doors.

“What? You said to grab something”, he stated “though doubt its going to hold for long”.

“Then we better get moving”, Bethany said, getting up with the help of her brother. The trio ran down the hall, ducking into a classroom.

“The desk!” Stiles said. He and Scott grabbed an end each and started to slide it over to the door. Bethany cringed at the sound it made scraping across the floor.

“Guys stop!” she said “one, that’s too noisy. Two, a desk isn’t going stop the Alpha from getting in”.

“No, it won’t”, Scott sighed. 

“The Alpha is your boss”, Stiles suddenly said.

“That’s impossible”, Bethany said.

“Oh, come on Beth! He disappears, and that thing shows up ten seconds later to toss Derek twenty feet through the air? That's not convenient timing?” Stiles asked.

“It's not him”, Scott replied adamantly. He was with his sister on this one. Deaton cannot be the Alpha Werewolf.

“He killed Derek”, Stiles shot back “he’s dead and we’re next”.

“So, what do we do?” Bethany questioned, voice trembling with fear.

“We get to my Jeep and your car”, Stiles answered “We get out of here. You, Scott seriously think about quitting your job, good?”

“Yeah, good”, Scott agreed. They went over to the window where Scott tried to open one.

“They’re not going to open, school's climate-controlled”, Bethany told him.

“Then we break it”, Scott stated.

“Which will make a lot of noise”, Stiles pointed out.

“Then, uh...” Scott glanced out of the window, eyes darting around trying to spot the Alpha “Then we run really fast. Really fast” he then frowned, noticing something “Stiles, what's wrong with the hood of your Jeep?”

“What do you mean? Nothing's wrong”, Stiles said, getting defensive over his beloved vehicle.

“It's bent”, Scott said.

“What, like, dented?” Stiles questioned.

“He means bent, like something pried the metal away”, Bethany corrected, peering out at the car. Stiles used the torch to shine some light through the window and gaped at his jeep.

“What the hell...?” the battery of his jeep was thrown through the window, causing all three of them to drop to the floor. Stiles stared at it “that’s…that’s my battery”, he said, his voice trembling. He started to stand up when Scott pulled him down. “We have to move”, Stiles said.

“He could be right outside!” Scott whisper shouted.

“He IS right outside!” Stiles argued.

“Just let me take a look”, Scott said. He slowly got up and looked through the window, trying to spot the Alpha. There was nothing.

“Can you see him?” Bethany asked.

“No”, Scott answered.

“So…we can move now?” Stiles questioned.

“Yeah, we can move now”, Scott replied. He, Stiles and Bethany make a break for it.

“We _have_ to get out of here!” Bethany exclaimed as they ran.

“That’s the plan”, Scott said. They reached another set of fire doors but when they pushed them, they found that there was something blocking the way.

“He really doesn’t want us leaving”, Bethany stated, panic starting to rise again.

“That’s too bad, cos we ARE going to be leaving. Somehow”, Scott said firmly. He turned and walked away from the doors.

“God, what is he doing? What does he want?” Stiles demanded.

“Me. Derek says its stronger with a pack”, Scott explained.

“Oh, great! A psychotic Werewolf who's into teamwork. That's-that's beautiful”, Stiles sassed.

“It’s how they survive”, Bethany stated “strength in numbers”. Scott stopped and looked out of the windows, stiffening when he saw the Alpha. Bethany and Stiles followed his gaze. “Oh my god…” the blonde breathed.

“Run!” Scott shouted. He and Stiles dashed down the hall as fast as they could. Bethany started to follow but stopped. She turned to face the Alpha, this surge of confidence and power flooding through her.

“You won’t hurt them”, she said, her blue eyes turning silver. The Alpha roared and ran at her. Bethany ran to meet him head on.

The next thing the teen knew, she was laying on a gurney inside of an ambulance. “Take it easy”, an EMT said when she tried to sit up.

“What happened?” she asked. The last thing she remembered was the Alpha smashing through the window and them running away. “My brother!” she exclaimed. Bethany jumped off the gurney, despite the man’s protests. Bethany found him trying to talk to Allison. “Everything ok?” she asked, approaching him as the brunette walked away from her brother.

“I should be asking you that”, Scott replied “what happened to you? One minute you were right behind us, the next you were gone”.

“Scott…I…don’t know what happened”, Bethany admitted “it’s a complete blank” she sighed “it’s probably better that way. Cos I’m gonna have serious nightmares about the Alpha”.

\-----------------

Bethany tossed and turned in bed, her mind replaying the events that happened at the school. Her window slid upwards and Derek climbed in, wincing slightly as he was still healing from the Alpha’s attack. “No….not Scott…” she mumbled “don’t hurt him…”

Derek knew it was a bad idea to wake her as she was likely to freak out that he was in her room but he couldn’t just stand there and watch her have a nightmare. He stepped toward the bed and gently shook her shoulder. “Beth”, he called.

“No…” Bethany said, not hearing him.

“Beth, wake up, it’s just a nightmare”, Derek said louder. She gasped awake, sitting bolt upright. Bethany looked at him, surprised to see that he was there.

“Derek?” she asked “a-are you really here?”

The beta werewolf nodded “yes, I am”, he confirmed.

Bethany frowned, confused “but the Alpha…” she started. She should be more freaked out that he was in her bedroom but she was more concerned for Derek’s wellbeing. After all, he was the one the Alpha nearly killed.

“He hurt me badly but nothing I couldn’t heal from”, Derek cut in.

“Good. That’s good”, Bethany let out a shaky breath “I was so scared”, she admitted. Derek’s heart went out to her. In all the time he’d seen known her as Erin, he had never seen her this scared. Correction, there was that one time: Paige. Aside from that, she was never scared. He supposed that was the way she was raised. She was a Kaitsja aka a Protector after all. Her kind helped to keep his safe.

Though at the moment she was far from being the Erin that he remembered. Probably due to the fact that somehow that part of herself had been replaced with Bethany McCall, a teenaged human female.

The blonde stiffened when Derek put an arm around her, holding her close. This seemed a little out of character for him. While he is usually nice to her but this kind of affection felt weird. However at the same time, it felt normal too. What the hell was going on?! “I’m sorry you had to go through that”, he said “and I’m sorry I could’nt protect you”, Derek said “but I promise from now on I’ll do whatever it takes keep you safe”.

“You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep”, Bethany warned him.

“Trust me Bethany, I am keeping it”, Derek assured her “you’re important to me”.

“You mean as the sister of a newly turned werewolf”, Bethany stated.

Derek shook his head “you’re much more than that”, he said. He wanted to kiss her and tell her everything. Who she was…who she really was and who she was to him, his True Mate. But he couldn’t. Not yet. There was a reason she was given this other life and until he found out the reason, he was going to keep the truth to himself for now.

“I…don’t understand”, Bethany said, confused.

“You will, one day”, Derek promised “and when that day comes, I’ll tell you everything”.

“I’m holding you to that”, Bethany said with a yawn. She dropped her head onto his shoulder, tiredly. Derek stayed put until the blonde had fallen asleep. 

\-----------

When Monday rolled around, Bethany found that she couldn’t bring herself to get out of bed to go to school. She was still pretty freaked out by what happened. “You not going in today, honey?” Melissa asked coming into her room with a pile of washing.

“No”, Bethany mumbled “you’re not going to make me, are you?”

Melissa shook her head “Considering what happened at the school last week, no I won’t”, she replied “let me know if you need anything”.

“I will”, Bethany promised. She rolled over and closed her eyes, drifting back off to sleep. When she woke up a few hours later, she had some breakfast and got into some fresh clothes before heading out on a walk to clear her head.

For the second time, she ended up outside the boarded up house. Of course for some reason, she didn’t recognise the home from last time. “The places I end up when I go for a wander”, Bethany muttered walking up the steps. She placed a hand on the door and gasped, her blue eyes turning silver.

“Erin”, Theo said joining her.

“Why did you let her do it, brother?” she asked, not looking at him. Her hand slid from the door as she passed out, straight into Theo’s arms.

“I didn’t want to”, he said quietly, gathering her up in his arms “I should’ve stopped mother. I’m sorry I didn’t Erin”. 

When Bethany came around, she found herself sitting on a bench near her house. She groaned “oh, man”, she muttered “either I didn’t get enough sleep or I’m coming down with something”. The blonde got up from the bench. From a distance, Theo watched her walk towards her housed.

“One day you’ll remember who you are”, he said quietly. Which looked like that it might be sooner than anyone was expecting. Well…technically no one was expecting her to remember at all. So what changed? His eyes widened when he noticed someone approach his sister. He was older but there was no mistaking it. “Oh, of course”, he breathed “Derek Hale”. If being around the Werewolf was going help her remember who she really was then he wasn’t about to get in the way of that.

“You know, as much as I like your visits these past few days”, Bethany said as she headed up the steps to her front door “you should probably stop dropping by. Thanks to my idiot brother, you’re a wanted man. Laying low is your best option”.

“It’s an option”, Derek agreed.

“No, it’s your only option”, Bethany argued “I don’t want you getting caught by the police. Cos if you go to prison then my brother is on his own against the Alpha and of course there’s the matter of the Argents wanting to hunt you guys down…” she was cut off when Derek did something that was a complete shock, he kissed her!

“You worry too much”, he said softly, pulling back “I can take care of myself. No one is going to catch me” he touched her face and smiled “I’ll see you later”. While he told himself that he wasn’t going to do that until he’d gotten some answers and got to know this version of his True Mate a little better, he couldn’t help it. She was just too adorable as she rambled about her concerns. It was probably going to cause an argument later but right now it was worth it.

Bethany watched him walk away, mouth agape. Slowly she raised a hand to her lips.

“What the hell just happened?” she breathed.

\--------------------

“Earth to Beth”, Lydia said waving a hand in front of her face. She’d taken her friend to the mall for some shopping therapy but the blonde seemed distant, almost distracted.

“Huh?” Bethany said, confused.

“I was going to ask for your opinion on this jacket but you’re a million miles away”, Lydia said, setting the jacket back onto the rail “whats going on with you?”

“Sorry, I just…have a lot on my mind”, Bethany admitted. It had been two days since Derek kissed her and she was still trying to get her head around it.

“Do you want to tell me about it?” Lydia asked.

“Someone kissed me”, Bethany replied, looking at a nearby jumper “someone I wasn’t expecting. And…I can’t get it out of my head”.

“Was it a good kiss at least?” Lydia questioned, interested.

“I don’t know”, Bethany admitted, turning to her “I’m still in shock over it”.

“Well, shock aside, would you want him…whoever he is…to do it again?” Lydia pressed.

“I’m not sure”, Bethany answered “maybe if I can just wrap my head around it”.

“Ok, while you’re doing that, you can help me get some new stuff”, Lydia said “and maybe I’ll even get you a new pair of boots”.

“I don’t need a new pair”, Bethany said “these are fine”. She gestured down to her black ankle boots she was wearing. Lydia arched a perfect brow.

“Beth honey, you’ve had those for years”, she stated “you’re definitely in need of some new ones”.

“I’ll take your word for it”, Bethany said.

“Oh, you’ll take more than my word” Lydia looped her arm around Bethany’s “you’ll have my keen eye for fashion too”. The blonde laughed.

“I knew there was a reason I was friends with you”, she said with a smile “smart and fashionable”.


	8. The Alpha Revealed

“I can’t believe I’m doing this”, Bethany muttered as she drove Derek’s car like a maniac, trying to keep ahead of the cop cars “how the hell did you talk me into this in the first place!” she shouted at her brother.

“Don’t blame me, Derek is the one who get spotted by the police”, Scott shot back.

“The police are only after him because of you, jackass!” Bethany snapped.

“I know that siblings are supposed to fight and all”, Stiles spoke up from the back seat “but do you think you can hold off your squabble until later? You know, when we’re not being chased by police?”

“Of course we can”, Bethany replied, pressing her foot to the accelerator, forcing the car to go faster.

A few minutes later, Stiles glanced out the back window. “They're gone”, he reported.

“Nice driving Beth”, Scott remarked.

“I wish I could be as happy as you two but I doubt it was my driving that made them give up”, Bethany said. Sure enough they heard Sheriff Stilinski's voice over the police radio that Stiles had.

_All units, suspect is on foot heading into the Iron Works_

Bethany cursed under her breath and drove off toward the Iron Works hoping that she could get there in time. She skidded to a stop by the beta werewolf who was being fired upon by Chris Argent. “Get in!” she shouted, throwing the passenger door open. Derek dove into the car and Bethany sped away.

“You ok?” she asked him, tugging her hood off. She’d kept her hood up to hide her face in case the police managed to get a look at her while she was driving.

“Fine aside from the fact that I almost had the Alpha”, Derek replied “He was right in front of me, and the friggin' police showed up”. He shot Scott and Stiles an angry look.

“Whoa! Hey, they're just doing their jobs—” Stiles began when Derek sarcastically cut in with

“Yeah, thanks to someone who decided to make me the most wanted fugitive in the entire state!”

“Can we seriously get past that? I made a dumbass mistake. I get it”, Scott said, defensively.

“It was way more than a dumbass mistake”, Bethany said to her brother “so, how did you find the Alpha?”

“Look, the last time I talked to my sister, she was close to figuring something out. She found two things. The first was a guy named Harris”, Derek explained.

“Our chemistry teacher?” Stiles asked, sticking his head between the front seats.

“Why him?” Scott questioned.

“I don't know yet”, Derek admitted.

“What's the second thing?” Bethany asked, shoving Stiles’ head back.

“Some kind of symbol”, Derek replied showing her “What?” he questioned when a look of recognition crossed the blonde’s face.

“I’ve seen that before, on Allison’s necklace”, Bethany replied.

“We need to get it. Harris told my sister about it for a reason”, Derek said “it could lead to the Alpha”.

“Ok, we’ll get the necklace. Shouldn’t be a problem”, Stiles said confidently.

“You forgot that she broke up with me”, Scott reminded him “she’s not going to let me see it”.

“I can get a look at it no problem”, Bethany assured Derek “Allison is still my friend”. From the back seat, Scott pulled a face. “Real mature, Scott”, Bethany said, meeting his eyes in the rear view mirror.

It was several minutes later when Bethany was pulling up near to where Stiles hid his jeep. “Aren’t you coming?” Scott asked his sister when she didn’t get out of the car.

“Uh…I need to talk to Derek for a minute”, Bethany replied.

“Why don’t you go ahead, Scott”, Derek suggested “I’ll take her home”.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea”, Scott said, not too keen about leaving his sister with the Werewolf.

“I’ll be fine”, Bethany said “and I’ll see you at home”.

“Fine”, Scott said, rather reluctant “if anything happens to her…”

“Goodbye Scott”, Bethany cut in, closing the car door, signalling that the conversation was over. Scott huffed and walked away. Bethany waited until he was far enough away before she spoke again “Why did you kiss me the other day? Was it to stop me rambling or is there more to it?”

“There’s more to it”, Derek admitted “I like you Bethany. I mean, I really, really like you”.

“Oh…” Bethany breathed. He HAD said she was important to him in a way that was more than just being Scott’s sister. She just never thought that he would like her in that kind of way. “I…I don’t know what to say”

“You don’t have to say anything”, Derek said “I get that this is a lot for you”.

“Just a little”, Bethany confessed “I mean the age gap alone. Plus I’m not exactly special. I’m just a girl…a relatively smart girl who’s twin brother is a Werewolf”.

Derek touched her face in a similar way that he’d done before “you’re not just a girl, Beth. And you’re more special than you know”, he said.

“I don’t see it”, Bethany mumbled.

“I do and one day you will see it too”, Derek assured her “I have got a question for you”. 

“What is it?” Bethany asked, getting the feeling she knew exactly what he was about to ask her.

“Can I kiss you?” Derek questioned. Bethany wasn’t sure what to say. Did she want him to kiss her again? The first time had been such a shock, she wasn’t sure what to make of it. So did she want him to do that again?

“I don’t think its such a good idea at the moment”, Bethany replied “I need time to think”.

Derek nodded “alright”, he said. To be honest, he was a little disappointed but he understood. He just hoped that he hadn’t messed up the chance to be with his True Mate. They switched seats and he drove her home.

\----------------------------

Bethany entered the school the next day with every intention of finding Allison, except she ran into Jackson first. “I have something to tell you”, he said “it’s about your brother. Now don’t freak out…but Scott isn’t human”.

“Yes he is”, Bethany said.

“No, he’s not”, Jackson insisted. She had to know that could be in serious danger! As soon as he found out, he’d planned to use it to threaten Scott so he could obtain the same power as him. Well, he still was going to do that but he felt that Bethany had the right to know first. “I don’t know what he is, but he isn’t human anymore”.

“If he isn’t human anymore then I’m Supergirl”, Bethany countered with a laugh “now if you’ll excuse me. I have to get to class”. She moved past the jock and as soon as she was far enough away, she called her brother.

_“Hey Beth”_ , Scott greeted.

“Scott, I don’t know how but Jackson knows there’s something up with you”, Bethany said “he told me about it”.

_“How much does he know?”_ Scott asked.

“Not a lot”, Bethany answered “definitely doesn’t know what you are. Just wanted to give you the heads up as he’s likely to want to confront you about it”.

_“Thanks for the warning”_ , Scott said and hung up.

Bethany sighed as she put her phone away. “Well, this day is already going to be eventful”, she muttered to herself. Not only did she have to get her head around Derek’s feelings for her AND take a look at Allison’s necklace for a clue on the Alpha, she also had to contend with Jackson’s new found knowledge. “I am going to have such a headache later”, she grumbled.

\-----------------

“Hey, Allison!” Bethany called hurrying after her friend. She stopped, looking at the brunette concerned. There were tear tracks on her face. She’d been crying. “Are you ok?” she asked.

“Fine”, Allison replied. Though her tremor in her voice told Bethany otherwise. “Did you need something?” she questioned.

“Yeah, but it’s not important”, Bethany answered.

“You sure?” Allison queried.

The blonde nodded “I’m very sure”, she confirmed. There was no way that she was going to ask Allison for the necklace, not while she was upset over what she could only assume was her brother. She’d try again later. In the meantime, they’d have to do something else to found out about the Alpha.

Turned out that something involved her going over to Stiles’ house after school. Bethany was pretty surprised to see Derek there as well as Danny. “Oh, hey Beth”, Stiles greeted.

“Stiles”, Bethany said “is there a reason you asked me to be here?”

“Yes”, Stiles answered “I was hoping that you could take my cousin, _Miguel_ ” he looked pointedly at Derek “out for some fresh air while Danny and I do some lab work”.

“Uh, sure”, Bethany replied “come on, Miguel. Lets go for a walk”. She turned and left Stiles’ bedroom, Derek following her. “Is there a reason that you’re at Stiles’ house instead of hiding like we planned?” she asked as they walked outside.

“I needed to find out if you guys had any luck with the necklace”, Derek replied.

“And you couldn’t have come to my house?” Bethany questioned “you know, since Stiles’ dad IS the Sheriff”.

“Yeah, I probably should’ve done”, Derek admitted “anyway, did you have luck with the necklace?”

“It’s a no go I’m afraid”, Bethany answered “sorry”.

“That’s ok. Stiles said he may have another way”, Derek said.

“Another way?” Bethany questioned “how?”

“Scott apparently sent a text to Allison which he didn’t do. Stiles is getting his friend to trace it”, Derek explained.

“That’s a pretty good idea”, Bethany agreed “So I um…have been thinking about what you said to me the other day. I still not quite understand what you see in me but I would like to give it a try. And if that offer you gave me yesterday still stands…”

“It does”, Derek said “if that’s what you want”.

Bethany nodded “It is”, she confirmed. Derek cupped her face and leant in to kiss her when her phone rang. “Sorry”, she said, stepping back and taking her phone out “its Stiles. He’s probably traced the text” she answered it “Stiles. Who’s the text from?”

_“Well, you’re not going to like it”_ , Stiles replied.

“Just tell me”, Bethany demanded.

_“The text was sent from a computer and your mom is the name registered to the account”_

Bethany frowned “That’s impossible Stiles, my mom would never…” she trailed off “Someone else used it. Derek and I are going to the hospital to find out who. When you get a chance, tell Scott”.

_“Beth wa-“_ Stiles was cut off when she hung up.

“You don’t think your mom could do it?” Derek asked having heard what Stiles had said.

“Theres no way she did it”, Bethany replied “trust me”.

“Alright”, Derek said. If she was sure her mother didn’t do it then he was inclined to believe her.

\-----------------

“Wait here, I shouldn’t be long”, Bethany said when Derek pulled up outside the hospital.

“Be careful”, Derek said.

“Don’t worry, I will be”, Bethany assured him. The beta Werewolf watched her enter the hospital, wishing that he could go in with her. But thanks to Scott, he was a fugitive so it would be too much of a risk.

The blonde went to the nurses station where her mother usually was but she wasn’t there. In fact no one seemed to be. She turned to go look for someone who might know where her mom was when she yelped. Stiles was right behind her! She slugged him on the arm “Stiles! You scared the crap out of me!” she exclaimed.

“Sorry”, Stiles said, rubbing his arm “didn’t feel right letting you go alone”.

“Technically I’m not. Derek is outside”, Bethany pointed out.

“Well, you’re in this hospital alone”, Stiles stated. When Bethany gave him an unimpressed look, he continued “have you found your mom yet?”

“Nope”, Bethany answered “I’m gonna try to find someone who may know where she is”. She and Stiles walked down the corridor, passing by the partially open door to Peter Hale’s room. The blonde quickly backtracked and stared at the empty room “oh no”, she breathed and took out her phone.

_“You found your mom?”_ Derek asked when he picked up.

“No”, Bethany replied “but I just passed your uncle’s room. He’s not there”.

_“What?”_

“He's not here. He's gone, Derek”, Bethany explained.

In the car, a horrible realisation came over Derek. He knew who the Alpha was…and his True Mate was in there with him! “Beth, get out of there right now!” he shouted “It's him! He's the Alpha! Get out!”

Bethany slowly moved back from the room, phone still to her ear. “You must be Bethany”, Peter said from another doorway, smirking at the pair.

“What are you doing here?” a red headed nurse said behind them “Visiting hours are over”.

“You... and him... You're-you're the one who-- Oh, my-- and he's-- Oh, my God, we’re gonna die”, Stiles stammered looking back and forth between the two adults. Suddenly Derek appeared, punching the nurse in the face.

“That's not nice. She's my nurse”, Peter said, feigning offense.

“She's a psychotic bitch helping you kill people”, Derek shot bluntly “you two, run”, he added to Bethany and Stiles. The pair took off.

“This is insane!” Stiles cried as they ran. He stopped when Bethany stopped “Beth, we gotta go!” he said “Beth?” he asked seeing that something changed in his friend. She didn’t seem so afraid.

“I’m going to help him”, she said “you run”.

“Are you crazy!” Stiles exclaimed “there’s no way I’m letting you do that. Scott would have my hide for one”.

“You can’t stop me”, Bethany said, her eyes changing colour. Stiles gaped at her, rather shocked by this turn of events. The blonde turned and dashed back down the corridor. She found Peter standing over a rather beaten looking Derek. She grabbed him and tossed him away. “Stay away from my Mate”, she growled, moving to stand protectively in front of beta Werewolf.

Peter got up and brushed himself off. He was very surprised to see the blonde with the silver eyes of a Protector. It wasn’t possible. She’d smelt of human before and as far as he knew, Protectors couldn’t change their scent like that. Then suddenly it was like a switch had flipped in his mind and he knew that the young lady before him wasn’t Bethany but Erin Rigel. “Erin”, he greeted “its been a while”.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Didn’t expect my own family to wipe my mind and replace it with fake memories”, Erin sassed “wasn’t expecting you to be killing innocent people”.

“They’re hardly innocent”, Peter scoffed “they were responsible for the fire that destroyed most of my family”, he stepped forward “though I have to ask, _why_ wasn’t your family there? You’re Kaitsja. It’s your job to help protect our family…keep them safe!”

“I know that!” Erin shouted back “if I…” she blinked, starting to sway on the spot “I…” Erin fell backwards, Derek jumping up to catch her. Peter clutched a hand to his head, stumbling back several steps. Derek took this opportunity to pick Bethany up and make a break for it.

He took her to Stiles’ jeep where he laid her in the back seat. Derek shot a quick text to the teenaged boy, telling him where to find her. “I’ll see you soon”, he quietly promised, caressing her face. He then headed back into the hospital to deal with his uncle.


	9. Derek's 180

Bethany woke with a gasp and blinked confused at how she was in Stile’s jeep. She was in the hospital wasn’t she? How did she get out here? It was moment later when her friend came bolting out of the building and she jumped out of the vehicle to meet him. “Beth? What were you doing in my jeep?” Stiles questioned, as confused as she was. He could’ve sworn that she was running beside him as they escaped from Derek’s uncle, aka the Alpha.

“I have no clue”, the blonde admitted “but I think we’ve got more important things to worry about. We have to find my brother and warn him”.

“R-right”, Stiles agreed “he’ll be at the school by now cos of the game” he groaned “the game I was supposed to be there for”.

“If it’s any consolation, I think you would’ve stayed on the bench”, Bethany assured him.

“Thanks…that really helped”, Stiles mumbled, not at all feeling assured by her words.

“Why don’t we focus on the big werewolf problem, ok?” the girl suggested patting him on the shoulder.

“Yeah, good idea”, the brown haired boy agreed.

\------------

When they got to the school, it didn’t take the pair long to find Scott in the shower of the boys locker room. He was lying on the floor and appeared to be in pain. “Scott!” Bethany cried rushing to his side “Scott!” she said again, shaking his shoulder. 

Her brother gasped awake. “Dude, we have a huge problem”, Stiles told him seriously.

“Trust me... I know”, Scott said, grimly as Bethany helped him sit up “Derek’s Uncle is the Alpha and Derek is working with him”.

“That can’t be…the last we saw, Derek was fighting his Uncle”, the blonde said, trying to wrap her head around this new information.

“Well, now he’s working alongside him”, Scott said again.

Bethany shook her head in disbelief “I can’t believe it. All this time Derek talked about fighting the Alpha…why the 180?”

“It probably has something to do with the Hale House fire. Peter ‘showed’ me a memory of it. He seems to be sure that the Argents are responsible”, Scott explained.

“I guess that makes sense”, Bethany admitted, though she still didn’t want to believe that Derek has suddenly switched teams. “I’m gonna let you get dressed”, she said getting up and hastily leaving the locker room. The blonde leant against the wall outside, shaking her head “there’s no way he’s gone Darkside”, she muttered “no way”.

“No way who’s gone Darkside?” Jackson questioned, approaching her.

“No one”, Bethany answered. When he didn’t leave, she asked “what do you want Jackson?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Winter Formal with me”, Jackson replied. The blonde stared at him, incredulous.

“Are you serious?” she demanded “what makes you think I want to go with you when you dumped Lydia via text which is a pretty lame guy move, by the way”.

“Beth I…”

“No, don’t ‘Beth’ me”, Bethany snapped “you’re little crush on me has got to stop! You had a really nice girl who is also my friend, you jerk” she kicked him in the leg “and you go and ruin it by breaking up with her in a lame-ass way. She was super upset when she talked to me during free period. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go get some fresh air”. The blonde didn’t wait for a response before she scarpered.

When she got outside, Bethany pressed a hand against the brick, using it to support herself. “How did our lives get so complicated?” she muttered crossly. She just wished that she could go back to the way things were before all the Werewolf shit.

\------------

The next evening saw Bethany trying to concentrate on her homework but she was finding it difficult. The blonde tossed her pencil across the room and sat back, sighing heavily. There was a soft knock at the door. “Come in!” she called and it opened to revealed her mother “Hey, mom. You look nice”, she remarked “hot date?”

“Mildly attractive”, Melissa replied with smile “but I think I need my daughters help to make sure I don’t go out with ‘mom’ hair”.

“Don’t worry, mom, you won’t”, Bethany assured her. She went back to her mother’s room with Melissa and proceeded to style her curly brown locks. As she worked, her mind wandered to Derek.

“Are you ok, honey?” Melissa asked, noticing how distracted her daughter seemed to be.

“Yeah, fine”, Bethany replied, picking up a few bobby pins and sliding them into her hair.

“Well, you seem to be elsewhere”, Melissa remarked “boy trouble?”

“Nope. No boy trouble for me”, Bethany answered “staying well away from boy trouble, trust me” she finished up her mother’s hairstyle “there. How’s that?”

Melissa checked it out in the mirror “Looks great, sweetheart. Thank you”, she replied.

“You’re welcome”, Bethany said. Then the doorbell rang.

“That’ll be him”, the older woman stated “would you mind letting him in?”

“Sure”, the blonde agreed.

“And please be nice!” Melissa called as she left the room.

“Mom, I’m not the one who would be scaring off your date. That’s Scott’s job”, Bethany called back. She bounded down the stairs, skipping over to the door. Bethany’s happy demeanour vanished when she opened it to reveal Peter Hale!

She tried to slam the door shut but the Alpha Werewolf pushed it open easily. “Really? Slam the door in my face? Come on, Bethany-- take a second to think that through”, Peter said.

“I did. I was hoping to slam the door in your face, hard”, Bethany shot back “now, leave”.

“I don’t think so, I have a date with your mother”, Peter reminded her.

“Not anymore you don’t”, Bethany said firmly “now leave!” her eyes shifted silver and Erin emerged. She struck him in the chest with all the strength she had, making him fly backwards. The brunette walked down the steps, making sure to pull the door closed behind her. “Melissa and Scott are under _my_ protection”, she growled as she stood over him “you lay a finger on either, I’ll rip you apart”.

She turned and started to walk away “they may be under your protection but I know someone who isn’t!” Peter shouted, making her pause “the Lacrosse player. He knows about my kind” she turned back to him “you know how they say ‘knowledge is power?’ Not in his case”. That had the blonde racing back into the house.

“Who the hell are you?” Melissa demanded, staring at her “and what are you doing in my home?”

“Long story. I need your son’s help”, Erin said, sprinting up the stairs and into Scott’s room, startling the boy and Allison “Scott, I need you. Now”.

“Who are you?” he asked making the Kaitsja roll her eyes.

“I don’t have time to explain, I need your help. Your buddy Jackson is in danger”, Erin said quickly “and if we don’t go now…he’s gonna die”.

“Then lets go”, Scott said. Allison watched the pair run out of the room, utterly confused.

\---------------

As they ran, Erin filled Scott in the best she could and as quickly as she could. “I still can’t believe that you pretended to be my sister for 6 years”, Scott said.

The blonde sighed “I didn’t pretend, I really thought I was your sister”, she corrected “you can…” she stopped, suddenly feeling rather dizzy.

“Erin?” Scott asked, concerned. She pitched forward as she passed out, the young werewolf grabbing he before she hit the ground. Then it was like a switch had flipped causing Scott to look down at the blonde in his arms, rather puzzled. “Beth? How did you get out here?” he questioned but of course with her being unconscious, she wasn’t going to respond.

Knowing that it wasn’t safe for her, Scott parked Bethany on the nearest bench and called Stiles to come and get her. Not waiting for his best friend to arrive, he took off for the Hale House.

When Bethany regained consciousness, she found herself in Stiles’ jeep. “What happened?” she murmured “where’s Scott?”

“He went to go save Jackson and then he found you, passed out”, the boy explained.

Bethany frowned “but…I didn’t leave the house”, she told him “so how was that possible?”

“Sleep walking?” Stiles suggested with a shrug.

“That’s been happening to me a lot lately”, the blonde mumbled, rubbing her forehead “I just wish I knew why”.

“Well, whats the last thing you remember?” Stiles asked.

“I was helping my mom get ready for her date…” Bethany’s blue eyes widened “oh my god! Peter!” she gasped “h-he didn’t hurt her, did he?”

“No, he didn’t”, Stiles assured her and she relaxed.

“Good, that’s good”, Bethany said, rubbing her temples “god I need some sleep. A lot of it”.

\--------------

At school the next day, Bethany was startled when Jackson suddenly appeared at her locker, looking rather freaked out. “H-hey Beth, he greeted.

“Are you ok? You seem….freaked out”, the blonde remarked.

“Y-yeah. Fine”, the jock stuttered.

“Ok. Well, can I help you with something?” she asked.

“I-I know you already said ‘no’ but I was wondering…” Jackson started.

“Again I say _no_ ”, Bethany cut in, closing her locker. She started off when Jackson caught her arm.

“I think we’d have a really good time”, he insisted.

“Are you deaf, I said no!” Bethany snapped. Jackson’s gaze went over her shoulder to Scott and Stiles who were watching. The blonde looked behind her and the pair ducked out of sight before she did. “Is my brother putting you up to this?” she asked, looking back at Jackson.

“No, why would you think that?” he countered. Bethany sighed. This was obviously Scott’s plan to keep her safe against the Alpha.

“Alright I’ll go with you”, she said “but only as friends”.

“O-of course”, Jackson agreed “just friends”.

“Good”, Bethany said.

“So what time shall pick you up?” Jackson asked, feeling a bit more relaxed now that Bethany had agreed to go with him.

“7.30”, the blonde replied.

The brunette smiled a genuine smile “Great”, he said “I’ll pick you up then”. 

\-------------

“How about this one?” Lydia asked, pulling a bright pink dress off the rack and showing Bethany, Allison and Stiles. The three females were at the mall buying dresses for the Winter Formal and Scott’s best friend just ‘happened’ to be there. Bethany figured her twin had put him up to it as part of his plan to keep them all safe from Peter.

“It’s nice”, Allison remarked.

“Y-yeah it looks really nice”, Stiles agreed.

The strawberry blonde sighed and turned to Bethany, the only person she could rely on to give her a proper opinion. The blonde shook her head “Style would suit you but not the colour. Its too bright”, she replied “I’d go for a pastel or a silver”.

Lydia looked pointedly at the others “see? I can always rely on Beth”, she said “come on” she looped her arm around Bethany’s “you and I are going to find me the perfect dress”. She walked away, taking the blonde with her. Stiles rushed after them leaving Allison to search for an outfit by herself.

After 10 minutes though, Bethany wandered off to find a dress of her own. Lydia was fine as she’d found plenty to try on, loading Stiles up with garment after garment. The blonde trailed her hand over the dresses, checking out each one and shaking her head every time.

Then she came across a knee length, off the shoulder dress made of blue tulle. Bethany carefully removed it from the rail and held it out. The blonde tilted her head as she considered it. There was something awfully familiar about it. As she stared at it, her blue eyes very briefly shined silver.

“Oh, that’s prefect for you!” Lydia said, suddenly appearing at her side “you should totally get it”.

“Well, I suppose if it got the Lydia Martin seal of approval, then I _have_ to get it”, Bethany said, slinging the dress over her arm “how about you? You find the right dress for you?”

“Ta da!” the strawberry said, holding up a silver one.

“Very nice”, Bethany said, nodding her approval “now, why don’t we see how Allison is getting on?”

“Absolutely”, Lydia agreed. She tossed the dress she’d chosen at Stiles, who fumbled to catch it.


	10. Winter Formal

Bethany turned this way and that as she inspected herself in the mirror. She did a little spin, smiling at her reflection. Yeah, she looked good. _Now what to do about my hair?_ she thought. She picked up sections of her blonde hair twisting them into different styles before opting for a braided bun. Bethany then pulled on her shoes, which matched her dress and had small heels before making her way downstairs to wait for Jackson.

“Oh, Bethany”, Melissa breathed, catching sight of her daughter “you look amazing”.

“Thanks mom”, Bethany said.

“Well, I hope you have a wonderful time sweetheart”, Melissa said.

“I’m sure I will”, the blonde said and settled down on the stairs to wait for the brunette to arrive. She wasn’t sitting there for very long when there was a knock at the front door. Bethany stood up and made her way over to it.

“Beth…you look…really beautiful”, Jackson commented as she pulled the door open.

“Thank you”, Bethany said, blushing a little at his compliment “and you clean up nice yourself”.

“I know I do”, Jackson said, earning a laugh from the blonde. He grinned too and offered her his arm “Shall we?”

“We shall”, Bethany said, slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow. Jackson walked her to his car, opening up the front passenger door. She got into his car and Jackson slid into the driver’s seat. He drove away.

\-------------

By the time they got to the school, the Winter Formal was in full swing. “Do you want to dance?” Jackson asked, holding out his hand.

“Sure”, Bethany replied, placed her hand in his. Jackson led her onto the dance floor, spinning her around as soon as they reached it. From the bleachers, Scott watched with a smile on his face as his twin sister danced, utterly enjoying herself. After everything they’d been through, it was the least she deserved. He stiffened when he noticed Peter amongst the students, his eyes seemingly focused on Bethany. The blonde was completely unaware as she was having too much fun with Jackson.

The beta hurried along to the end of the bleachers when the Alpha seemingly disappeared. Unfortunately, him moving had Coach Finstock spotting him. “McCall! I see you!” he shouted “Come here, buddy. Come here!”

Scott ran down the wooden steps as the man pushed his way through the party goers. Suddenly he fell to the floor. “Sorry, Coach, I had a leg cramp”, Bethany said, smirking. She turned to Jackson, frowning when he was no longer there. The blonde spotted him disappearing out of the gym. Bethany ran after him but by the time she got to the doorway, he was gone.

“Did Jackson just leave?” Lydia asked, appearing at her side.

“Yeah”, Bethany replied.

The strawberry blonde sighed “I really need to talk to him”, she stated.

“Let’s go find him then”, Bethany said “come on”. She walked down the corridor and Lydia followed.

“So are you and Jackson a thing, now?” Lydia asked as they walked, both keeping their eyes out for the wayward jock.

“God no!” Bethany replied “we’re just friends”.

“Good”, the strawberry blonde said, somewhat relieved.

“I could never go out with someone who’d literally just broke up with you, can I?” Bethany remarked with a smile “that’s against the Best Friend/Sister code”.

“Yes. Yes it is”, Lydia agreed.

\----------

After a lot of wandering, Lydia and Bethany eventually made their way outside to the football field where someone said they’d seen Jackson. The pair paused at entrance “I’ll leave you to it”, Bethany said “good luck”.

“Thanks”, Lydia said and walked out onto the grass alone. The blonde started to head back towards the school when she stopped, getting a really bad feeling. Bethany spun around and sprinted to the football field.

“NO!” she shouted, seeing Peter attacking Lydia. Bethany continued running straight at them, her eyes turning silver. She tackled the pair to the ground, pulling the Alpha away from Lydia. “Run!” the blonde ordered to the girl, who let out a small scream at her eyes. However, the strawberry blonde didn’t waste time doing what she said.

“Erin, you’re getting to be quite the thorn in my side”, Peter remarked with a snarl as he got to his feet.

“I’m rather enjoying it too”, the blonde stated.

“I know you and my nephew are True Mates but don’t think that’ll stop me from fighting you”, Peter told her.

“So, are we gonna fight or are you planning to talk all night?” Erin questioned “cos I really don’t want to hear any evil monologuing”. Peter roared and rushed at her.

The Kaitsja ducked and dodged his blows, responding with several well aimed strikes of her own. Erin stumbled back, clutching her side that the Alpha has slashed with his claws. Peter knocked her off her feet, sinking his fangs into her shoulder. The blonde screamed and the silver disappeared from her eyes.

“No!” Stiles shouted, running onto the scene, dropping down beside them “Don't kill her... please...” he begged.

“Of course not! Just tell me how to find Derek”, Peter said.

“W-what?” Stiles stammered.

“Tell me how to find Derek Hale”, the Alpha repeated.

“I don't know that. How would I know that?” the teenager asked, his heart beating wildly.

“Because you're the clever one, aren't you?” Peter countered “And because deception has a particularly acrid scent, Stiles” he lightly ran his claws across Bethany’s cheek “Tell me the truth... or I will rip her apart”, he threatened.

“Look-look, I don't know, okay? I sw-swear to God, I have no idea”, Stiles insisted, anxiously.

“TELL ME!” Peter roared, making the boy flinch.

“Okay, okay, okay, look... I-I think he knew—”

“Knew what?” Peter demanded, getting impatient.

“Derek, I think he... I think he knew he was gonna be caught. When they were shot, he and Scott-- I think he took Scott's phone”, Stiles explained.

“Why?” Peter asked.

“They all have GPS now. So, if he still has it, and if it's still on... you can find him”, Stiles replied.

“Alright, lets go”, Peter said, getting up.

“No. I'm not leaving her here”, Stiles said. There was no way he was leaving his best friend’s sister alone on the field in the state she was currently in.

“You don't have a choice, Stiles. You're coming with me”, Peter insisted.

“I can’t leave her”, Stiles whispered, starting to tear up.

Peter sighed “Call your friend. Tell Jackson where she is. That's all you get”, he said. Stiles fumbled to get his phone out of his pocked and called the jock, telling him to come out to the football field. He barely hung up when Peter grabbed his arm and dragged him away from Bethany’s unconscious form.

It was probably about 10 minutes later when Jackson sprinted out onto the field, sliding to a stop beside the blonde. “Beth…oh god”, he breathed. He then carefully picked her up and raced back to the school. “Hold on, Beth, just hold on”, he pleaded.

\--------------

The ride to the hospital was a tense one at best. Bethany was laying on the gurney, Lydia clutching her hand tightly. The EMT’s had patched up the bite mark on her side quite easily but they did mention that she should really be in the other ambulance, lying down. The strawberry blonde had point blank refused to leave her best friend’s side. Jackson was also there too as, like Lydia, he didn’t want to leave Bethany either.

As soon as they got there, the blonde was hastily wheeled away from the pair. “She’s going to be ok, right?” Lydia asked, worriedly “She’s gonna pull through?”.

Jackson put an arm around her “of course she will”, he assured her “Bethany is a fighter” he glanced at her “how are you feeling?”

“Me?” Lydia asked “I’m fine. We should…” she trailed off as she suddenly slumped against Jackson, startling him.

“Somebody help!” Jackson yelled, shifting Lydia into his arms.

“What happened?” Melissa asked, rushing over.

“We were just talking and then she suddenly collapsed!” Jackson answered “Now, help her, please!”

“Can we get a gurney over here!” Melissa called and a couple of doctors were quick to bring one over “She’s going to be ok, Jackson, I promise”, she assured him as they wheeled Lydia away.

“I hope so, I really hope so”, Jackson murmured. While he and Lydia were broken up, he admittedly held some affection for her. That wasn’t going to go away overnight. However, he was going to have to push it aside one day if he wanted to become a werewolf. Besides once he got what he wanted, he was planning to pursue someone else, someone that would be more worthy of his time: Bethany. 

The blonde could keep him on his toes and would definitely make him work to win her over. That is if she recovers… Jackson shook his head, shoving that thought away. Of course she will recover! Bethany was a fighter through and through.

\----------------------

Outside of the remains of the Hale House, Derek stood over Peter’s charred body. It had been one hell of a fight which resulted in Kate’s death and the Alpha being burned alive thanks to Jackson and Stiles throwing a Molotov style liquid at him, the idea of which was courtesy of Lydia. She’d told them about it while they had been stuck in the school by the psycho.

“Wait!” Scott shouted “You said the cure comes from the one who bit you. Derek, if you do this, I'm dead. Her father, her family-- what am I supposed to do?”

“You've... already... decided...” Peter gasped, weakly “I can smell it on you...!”

“Wait! No, no! Don't!” Scott cried but Derek just ignored him, swiping his claws across Peter’s throat, killing him. The newly turned Alpha moved away from his Uncle’s body, turning to Scott and the others, his eyes glowing bright red.

“I'm the Alpha now”, he declared, his voice distorted. Scott stared at him in disbelief, that was his only chance to be normal! And Derek just took that away from him!

“Uh…I hate to interrupt but we got to get to the hospital”, Stiles spoke up “Lydia is there and…so is Beth”. That had both Derek and Scott looking at him.

“Are they ok?” the latter asked.

“No, they’re not”, Stiles grimly replied “They’re in bad shape, Beth more than Lydia. Peter attacked them both”.

“We gotta go, now”, Scott stated.

“I’ll take you in my car”, Jackson offered and Scott nodded his thanks. The beta turned to Derek to ask him if he needed a ride but he was gone. Scott turned back to Jackson.

“Lets go then”, he said. Jackson, Stiles and Scott, piled into the jock’s Porsche and he drove off to the hospital. Meanwhile, Derek raced through the woods, dropping down onto all fours to make himself go faster.

\-----------

The newly made Alpha burst through the doors, somewhat out of breath as he had run all the way to the hospital, not even slowing down for a second. He passed Lydia’s room, giving the girl a quick glance through the window. Derek stopped outside of the room that held Bethany, his heart aching at the sight of her hooked up to machines monitoring her vitals.

He went to the door, pushing it open and slipping inside. “Oh Beth”, he whispered as he approached the bed. Derek gingerly took her hand, rubbing his thumb across the back of it. “I’m sorry you got hurt but I promise, it’ll never happen again”, he vowed “I’ll keep you safe”.


	11. Derek's jealousy

_Ok. Slowly does it_ Bethany thought as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and inched forward carefully until her feet were now on the floor. She eased herself up, wincing at little at her injuries. The blonde had started toward the bathroom when Derek came into the room. “Whoa! What are you doing?” he asked, gently steering her back to the bed and making her sit down “you should be resting”.

“I was going to freshen up and get out of this thing”, Bethany plucked the hospital gown “cos I’m being discharged today”.

“Oh, good. I’m glad to hear it”, the Alpha said, happy to know that she was apparently well enough to go home.

“Me too. I was honestly going stir crazy in here”, Bethany admitted “now, is it ok for me to got to the bathroom?” she questioned.

“Yeah, its fine”, Derek replied. He helped her stand and guided her over to the door that led to the adjoining bathroom.

“Thanks”, she said, opening the door and slipping inside. He watched her close the door behind her before going to sit down in one of the chairs to wait. Admittedly he had possibly overreacted a little bit when he came into the room but he did have a legitimate reason. He was afraid that she was going to aggravate her injuries by moving about too much.

About 10 minutes later, Bethany emerged from the bathroom, rubbing her wet hair with a towel. “Feel better?” he asked, standing up.

“Definitely”, the blonde answered.

“Beth I…” Derek started after a moment of standing there watching her rub her wet blonde locks.

“Yes?” she asked, lowering the towel.

“I um…do you need a lift home?” he offered, mentally smacking himself as it wasn’t quite what he wanted to say.

“Well, my mom was going to take me home but I know she probably won’t be able get off work till later. Its been pretty busy here, so I would appreciate it”, Bethany answered giving him a grateful smile. She would’ve called her brother for a ride accept she knew he would be busy sneaking around with Allison. He would more than likely deny it when confronted but she wasn’t an idiot. Those two were very much in love and nothing was going to stop them from being together. Not Scott being a werewolf and certainly not Allison’s family being hunters.

The pair then left the hospital room, Bethany making sure to grab her bag and to shoot a quick text to her mother that Derek was taking her home.

\-------------

The ride home was pretty quiet, Bethany opting to look out the window at the scenery as it whizzed past. Derek cast a glance at her, wanting to say something to break through the silence but he didn’t know what to say so opted not to speak at all. Well, that wasn’t strictly speaking true. He wanted to say those three little words to her but he felt like it was probably too early to say it. Even though he really, _really_ wanted to say it and so much more. But he kept quiet for fear of pushing her away which is something he didn’t want to happen since he almost lost her…again.

Eventually he pulled up outside the McCall home. “Thanks for the lift”, Bethany said, unbuckling her seatbelt.

“You’re welcome”, Derek said. The teenager reached for the door, resting a hand on the handle but she didn’t open it. Instead she turned back to the werewolf and much to his surprise, she kissed him!

“Sorry, I just…really wanted to do that”, Bethany said, pulling back and tucking some hair behind her ear.

“You don’t need to be sorry”, Derek said “I wanted to do that too”. He leant forward and pressed his lips against hers. Without breaking it, he swiftly tugged her into his lap, her legs either side of his so she was effectively straddling him. From there the kiss grew more heated with tongues being introduced. Bethany let out a soft moan into Derek’s mouth, pleasing the wolf within him. His hands slid beneath her shirt and accidently brushed against the still healing claw marks on her side. The blonde hissed and pulled back. “Sorry”, Derek said apologetically at the pained expression on her face.

“No, its ok”, Bethany said waving him off “its still pretty tender, that’s all” the werewolf lifted up at shirt enough to glare at the angry red lines on her skin. He had the sudden urge to kill his uncle all over again. “Hey”, she called softly, feeling him shake and he looked up at her “it’s not your fault, ok?” she leaned forward, ghosting her lips over his “I don’t blame you. So don’t you blame yourself”. She kissed him again. Derek hesitated before kissing her back but not as feverously as before as he was now hyper aware that she was still recovering from her injuries.

“We should probably stop”, the werewolf mumbled moving his lips from her mouth to her neck “its getting late”.

“Do we have to?” Bethany asked in an almost whine, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the feeling of his mouth on her skin.

“Yes, you need sleep”, Derek replied, giving her neck one last kiss before shifting his gaze back to her.

“So do you”, the blonde countered.

“And that’s why we need to stop”, Derek pointed out. As much as he wanted to continue to do this and a lot more…it _was_ getting late. Bethany opened her mouth to say something but closed it again, realising that he was right.

“Fine”, she sighed “we’ll stop” she moved off his lap and grabbed her bag “good night Derek”.

“Goodnight Beth”, he said as she stepped out of his car. He watched her go into the house before shifting in his seat, uncomfortably “shower. Very cold shower”, he muttered as he started up the car. Making out with Bethany had been enjoyable. _Very_ enjoyable. To the point where he was now sporting a slight ‘problem’. One of which could be easily rectified by going inside the house and burying it deep within… _No! Stop that!_ He mentally scolded himself and physically smacking the back of his own head as if he could knock those dirty thoughts from his mind. Unfortunately it wasn’t that simple, not when the scent of Bethany’s arousal lingered in the air. It wasn’t strong but it was enough to drive him wild. In fact it took everything he had not to get out of the car and drove away from the McCall house.

Completely unaware of Derek’s inner battle, Bethany pottered about in the kitchen, making herself a cup of tea. Suddenly a piercing scream broke through the silence. The mug fell out of her hands, shattering on the floor as the blonde pressed them against her ears. She dropped to her knees as the scream shook her to her core. Bethany’s blue eyes turned gold. “Lydia”, she breathed, standing up. She caught sight of her reflection in the window and did a double take “huh, that’s new”, she remarked. The blonde shook her head, she had to focus on Lydia.

Without even bothering to clean up her mess, Erin raced out of the storey building, the echo of the scream ringing in her ears.

\-------------

Leaves whipped past the Kaitsja as she ran through the forest of the Beacon Hills Preserve faster than her normal speed. It seemed that not only had her eyes changed colour, her abilities appeared to be increased too. Especially since she had caught a whiff of Lydia from miles away which she couldn’t do before. The increased sensitivity of her powers would’ve been overwhelming if it weren’t for the fact that she was so focused on finding the teenager.

She skidded to a stop when she spied Lydia’s strawberry blonde hair. “Lydia!” she called, making the young girl jump and spin around.

Lydia frowned at her “Who are…” she trailed off and blinked as the gold receded from the blonde’s eyes “B-Beth?”

“Yeah, it’s me”, Bethany confirmed though she was somewhat confused as to how she ended up in the Preserve with Lydia who was naked for some reason. “How did you get out here?” she asked, shrugging off her jacket and wrapping it around the shivering teenager.

“I don’t know. The last thing I remember was taking a shower in the hospital and the next thing I know I’m in the woods”, Lydia explained, pulling Bethany’s jacket around herself.

“Well, lets get you back. I’m sure your parents are very worried”, the blonde said, putting her arm around her friend and leading her through the forest, making sure to clear the sharp rocks and sticks away as best as she could so that Lydia wouldn’t hurt her bare feet.

“Are you alright?” Lydia asked, casting a glance at her friend “you look as bad as I feel”. The blonde was unusually pale, almost sickly looking as if she hadn’t eaten or slept in days.

“I…I’m a little tired”, Bethany admitted. She did feel like she hadn’t slept in a while or had a meal which was rather strange since the last thing she remembered was being at home.

When the pair eventually emerged from the Preserve, they found themselves at a crime scene where an ambulance had two busted doors and blood everywhere. The Sheriff was there along with several deputies and his son. “Lydia! Beth!” Stiles exclaimed, spotting them first. Sheriff Stilinski took the strawberry blonde to the squad car to all in an EMT to check her over since she’d been outside with nothing on for a day or more. “You look terrible”, the boy remarked, looking his friend over “Scott is going to be happy to know you’re ok”.

Bethany frowned “Why would he be worried about me? I haven’t been gone that long, have I?”

Stiles looked at her concerned “Beth…you’ve been missing for two days. Just like Lydia”.

The blonde took a step back, shaking her head “two…two days?” she repeated “no, that can’t be right”.

“I’m afraid it is”, Stiles said rather regretfully.

“I can’t…I can’t…” Bethany swayed on the spot before she collapsed, Stiles barely managing to catch her before she hit the ground. 

\--------------

Two days. Two days that Derek had been sitting by Bethany’s bedside at the hospital waiting for her to wake. When he found out that she, like Lydia went missing, he had gone spare. He would’ve probably completely lost it if she had been found with so much as a scratch on her. However, he was still very upset to find that she was so thin and pale. The Alpha clenched his trembling hands into fists.

“Derek?” Bethany mumbled, opening her eyes and seeing him sitting there.

“Beth”, the werewolf breathed, relieved that she was awake.

“How…long?” she whispered.

“Two days”, Derek replied.

"Two days?" Bethany repeated, echoing the same as she'd done with Stiles.

"What happened Beth?" Derek asked "Scott told me that when he came home, the front door was open and there was a broken mug in the kitchen. Did someone kidnap you?" the last question came out in a bit of a growl, the Alpha's flickering red.

"I don't know", Bethany admitted "I mean maybe but I don't really remember. Its like I lost two days so I have no clue what I was doing or where I was" she reached over at grasped his hand "but at least I'm back now as is Lydia".

"Yeah, that's good", Derek agreed, feeling himself calm plunder her touch "I'm going to grab a nurse, let them know you're awake". He dropped a kiss onto her forehead and then got up.

"Do you think you could get me something to eat?" Bethany asked "I'm starving".

"Sure. I'll be back in a minute", Derek promised and left the room. While he was gone, Bethany took the time to take in the get well cards. As she was doing this, she heard someone enter.

"I think that was about 45 seconds", she teased with a smile, turning her head. Her expression was one of surprise when she saw that it wasn't Derek. It was actually Jackson. “Jackson? What are you doing here?” Bethany asked.

“I came to see you, I was worried”, Jackson replied, entering the room “I uh…got these for you…” he produced a small bunch of flowers from behind his back.

“They’re lovely, thank you”, the blonde said as he set them down on the table.

“Do you know when you’ll be back at school?” the jock questioned.

“Not sure. I’ve only just woken up so it could be days or maybe even a week before they let me go”, Bethany explained.

“And once you’re back, will you be coming to the games?”

“Of course I will!” Bethany answered “I wouldn’t miss them or the practices. Well, maybe some of the practices if it clashes with class” Jackson smiled, happy to hear it “gotta support my brother…” Jackson’s smile dropped “and Stiles”.

“Right”, Jackson muttered, somewhat disappointed she wasn’t going to be there to watch him play. To be honest he could understand it since her twin was on the team too. “Beth there’s something that I…” he broke off when there was a sudden growl behind him. Jackson glanced back to see Derek standing there, holding a tray and looking like he was about to rip the boy to shreds.

“Get out”, he ordered.

“Derek there’s no need for him to leave”, Bethany said.

“It’s ok Beth, I need to go anyway” Jackson touched her arm and the werewolf’s grip tightened on the tray. The plastic on the verge of snapping as was his temper “see you at school”. He strolled out of the room, smirking at Derek, the older man giving him a glare. If looks could kill, Jackson would’ve dropped dead then and there.

“Why did you make him go?” Bethany asked as the Alpha came into the room, setting the tray down harder than necessary.

“I don’t want him around you. He’s dangerous”, he stated.

The blonde raised her brows “this coming from an Alpha werewolf? No offense Derek, but you’re more dangerous that he is”.

“Except for the fact that I would never hurt you whereas he would”, Derek shot back.

“Why would he? He’s mind friend…kind of. And he also has this weird crush thing on me too. Even though I have no idea why”, Bethany countered. Derek’s eyes darkened and stormed toward the door. The blonde knew she’d made a mistake and had to rectify it. She quickly unhooked herself from the machines monitoring her vitals and carefully removed the canula from her had. “Derek wait!” Bethany called, darting over to him. She almost fell if it weren’t for Derek spinning around and grabbing her. “Thanks. Derek, he may have a crush on me but I don’t have one on him. I’m not interested in Jackson” she touched his cheek “not one bit”.

“You promise?” Derek asked.

“I promise”, Bethany replied “besides if I were interested in him, do you think I’d do this?” she pulled him down as best she could and kissed him “or made out with you in the car?” she questioned, pulling back.

“No, I guess not”, Derek conceded. He couldn’t help feel a little insecure about it. With Erin he knew that there was no way anyone else would catch her interest since they were True Mates. However, she wasn’t her right now, she was Bethany. And Bethany was a smart, kind and beautiful high schooler who had no clue about their connection. Who’s to say that she wouldn’t eventually get bored of being with someone with a slight age gap and turn to someone closer to her age.

“There’s no one else I want, Derek. No one else I’d be interested in, except you”, Bethany said, softly “ok?”

“Ok”, Derek said, quietly. He went to kiss her when he was interrupted by the nurse he’d spoken to before outside.

“Excuse me! Did you get this poor girl out of bed?” the nurse asked moving past Derek to usher Bethany back to the bed “she’s not well enough to be moving about yet”.

“You got told”, the blonde mouthed at Derek as the nurse hooked her back up to the machines. The werewolf just stuck his tongue out at her. Despite the scolding from the nurse, he was relatively happy that Bethany wasn’t going to be swayed by Jackson.


End file.
